Hearing Test

What is a hearing test?

A hearing test evaluates how you perceive sound at various frequencies and intensity levels. At ENT & Allergy Specialists of VA, PC, the specialists offer hearing tests in the office to detect hearing loss.

What does a hearing test involve?

For your hearing test, you’ll typically sit in a sound booth, an insulated room that reduces outside noises. A hearing test can involve a few different kinds of evaluation.

Pure-tone testing

During pure-tone testing, also called air conduction testing, you’ll hear sounds through insert earphones, headphones, or speakers. You’ll respond each time you hear a sound.

Pure-tone testing determines the quietest sounds you can hear at various frequencies. If your pure-tone test shows that you have hearing loss, you’ll also have a bone conduction test.

Bone conduction testing

A bone conduction test can help to narrow down the area of hearing loss. In bone conduction testing, a tiny device behind your ear delivers sounds straight into your inner ear, skipping the outer and middle ear. If your bone conduction test is normal, it can indicate that the problem lies in your outer or middle ear.

Young children often need special interactive hearing tests that include play and visual rewards as part of the testing process.

What do my hearing test results mean?

An audiogram is a graph that displays your test results with marks connected by lines. The graph shows frequencies and intensity levels in an easy-to-read format. The closer to the top, the better the hearing.

The very top of the graph represents normal hearing. Marks near the top indicate slight or mild hearing loss, while marks in the middle mean moderate hearing loss. Marks in the lower part of the audiogram indicate severe hearing loss. The very bottom of the graph represents profound hearing loss.

The frequencies between 250-2,000 Hz are the most important for normal hearing, so the team can explain your hearing at different frequencies and how it can affect you. One example is that high-frequency hearing loss can cause tinnitus.

Call the ENT & Allergy Specialists of VA, PC office now or go online to arrange your hearing test.