How Hearing Tests Work

Reliable Hearing Tests in Bentonville,  Arkansas

What to expect during your hearing test at Better Hearing Balance and Connection?

When you arrive for your exam, you will be greeted by the front office staff and asked to fill out several forms, including those that record your personal information, medical history and verify your insurance. You will also receive a copy of a Notice of Privacy as mandated by law.

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As your exam begins, your audiologist will review your personal information with you and will ask you some questions to discover when you have difficulty hearing and the specific types of environments that you notice more difficulty hearing.


Next, the audiologist will examine your ears using an otoscope. This instrument is used to see the ear canal and the ear drum and whether there is ear wax obstructing the canal or not. Sometimes the audiologist will have a video otoscope so you can see inside your ear as well!


Pure Tone Hearing Tests At Better Hearing Balance and Connection

This is conducted in a quiet environment, sometimes in a soundproof booth. The audiologist will place headphones that are connected to an audiometer over your ears. The audiometer transmits a series of tones at a variety of volumes 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 will be asked to say "yes" or raise your hand.


Next is speech testing, when you will listen to a series of one and two syllable words at different volumes and be asked to repeat them. This will determine the level at which you can not only detect, but understand speech. Another test that may be conducted is a speech in noise test. This test will determine how well you hear and understand speech in a noisy environment.

The results of your tests will be recorded on a form called an audiogram, which the audiologist will review with you. The audiogram reflects your hearing loss in frequencies and decibels. You will be shown the type, pattern and degree of hearing loss, as well as the percentage of normal conversational speech that you are still able to hear. 

Your audiologist will then relate these results to your concerns about your hearing. The next step is to consider treatment solutions.

 Call today to schedule an appointment for your hearing test!

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