Hearing evaluation

There are 3 main components of an initial hearing test.

1. The Audiogram
   
   This is a threshold of hearing test, and you will be asked to listen for pure tone sounds at different frequencies, which are important for speech recognition. We ask you to press a button when you hear a sound.  Each ear will be tested separately.
   
   
2. Impedance: for an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat specialist)
   
   This test measures the movement of the eardrum and is used to assess possible middle ear problems.  The types of conditions that can be detected are fluid in the middle ear, negative pressure related to Eustachian tube dysfunction, and perforation of the eardrum.
   Impedance results together with the audiogram become a powerful tool for an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to help assist in the medical diagnosis of patients.
   
   
3. Speech testing
   
   Speech discrimination testing is important to help determine how much speech information can actually be interpreted.  Hence, if the hearing nerve (VIII cranial nerve) is damaged in some way, it will drastically affect speech discrimination scores.  We can evaluate how effective a hearing aid fitting can be from this test.

Trying an instrument for the first time?  What to do?

A first time fitted customer will notice an immediate improvement in hearing.

Overall you will experience an enhanced quality of life.  Remember, a hearing loss is more visible and noticeable than the solution (hearing instrument).

Children

At Northern Sydney Hearing we test children from the age of 10 months using a test procedure called VROA (Visual Reinforcement Orientation Audiometry). This is a screening test and evaluates the overall hearing level.  Most children from the age of 3 are able to condition to play audiometry and responses from each ear can be tested separately using headphones. Some children have ear infections which lead to conductive hearing loss so their hearing may need to be monitored to ensure that valuable speech information is not missed for any length of time. An Ear Nose and Throat surgeon may intervene at some stage, but for most parents their GP is the first contact point.

If your child has had any hearing issues, then it is wise to have their hearing tested before they start school.  For information on government services for children with hearing impairment please refer to www.health.gov.au