Initial Consultation and Hearing Test(s)

1.  During the initial consultation, the hearing professional will go over your case history form that contains information regarding your medical background.  This form is essential for the hearing professional to properly and thoroughly understand your medical situation. 

2.  After the hearing professional establishes a comprehensive background, he/she will examine your ear with a video-otoscope, which is a small camera that projects an image of your ear on a TV screen.  This will give the patient an opportunity to look along with the hearing professional to see the condition of the ear canal and eardrum to make sure no abnormalities exist. 

3.  You will then be placed into a sound proof room to test your hearing.  The hearing professional will place headsets over your ears or insert ear plugs.  Then he/she will run several tests to confirm the condition of your outer, middle and inner ear. These tests include:

• Pure Tone Air Conduction Test- Measures the patient’s ability to hear a wide range of sounds from low pitch bass frequencies to the high pitched frequency spectrum.

• Pure Tone Bone Conduction Test- An oscillator is placed on the mastoid bone of the ear and the patient’s acoustic nerve is tested over a wide range of frequencies

• Word Recognition and Discrimination Test- A series of phonetically balanced words are presented to the patient who is asked to repeat the words back as he/she understood them.

• Tympanometry Test- A computerized measure of the eardrum mobility and the pressure behind the eardrum.  Tympanometry detects the presence of eardrum perforations and whether there is any distention or retraction of the eardrum.

• Acoustic Reflex Test- A test whereby the muscle contractions of the middle ear are evaluated which can determine the extent of your loss or the type of hearing loss. 

4.  The professional will discuss the results of all your hearing tests.  Your tests may show your hearing is within the normal range or somewhere between a mild to profound hearing loss.  The probable causes of your loss will be thoroughly explained along with our recommendations or solutions to correct your hearing loss.  These strategies may include hearing aids, assistive listening devices, auditory training and/or reasons for referral to your medical practitioner.

5.  Should the hearing professional determine that you are a candidate for hearing aids, he/she will take an impression of your ears.  The professional will insert a cotton block to protect the eardrum and ensure your safety.  A silicone material will be inserted into your ear to allow a customized fitting of your earmold.  The hearing professional will schedule an appointment in a week for the fitting and computer programming of your hearing aids.