Hear on the Coast
Hearing Clinic
Your Fully Diagnostic Hearing Evaluation will last approximately 1 1/2 hour.
This evaluation will include the following steps:
1) Review of medical history including any medications you currently take. Communicate any ear related symptoms and/or hearing concerns.
2) Conduct a visual exam of your ears including looking into your ears with an otoscope. We will determine if there is any wax obstructing the ear canal preventing moving forward with the hearing evaluation. It is recommended that you request your family physician to check your ears for ear wax at your annual visits or more frequently if you have a history of wax buildup.
3) Perform the latest Diagnostic tests to measure your hearing and ability to recognize words. These tests are conducted in a measured quiet environment, wearing ear inserts or headphones that are connected to an audiometer.
We will determine the most comfortable level for hearing speech in a quiet environment as well as what level of speech is uncomfortable for you. Then a series of tones at a variety of volumes are transmitted into your ears to determine the exact point or "threshold" at which you can hear various frequencies of sounds. When you hear a sound, you simply press a response button or raise your hand to indicate you have detected the noise.
Speech tests are preformed to evaluate your ability to hear and recognize words. During the first test you will hear two syllable words and be asked to repeat the words you hear. We are evaluating the softest words you can hear so this test can seem difficult.
The second test evaluates your ability to recognize words. A sentence is heard and all you need to do is repeat the last word of each sentence. The level of volume will match your personal preference or requirements, which were indicated from the previous testing. Knowing your ability to recognize words is extremely important with understanding realistic expectations surrounding your ability to hear and understand conversations in quite and when in noise.