We claim directly from medical aids!

info@comehear.co.za

082 740 4207

Shop 5 Stepping Stones Garden Village

283  Honeydew Road West  - Northriding


All material copyright to the relevant copyright holders

Your interactions with this site are in accordance with our public privacy statement.

Contact us today

082 740 4207


An audiologist will perform a variety of tests to identify and diagnose a hearing loss.  The method used will depend on numerous factors, including your age and the nature of any present hearing loss.  These individual tests are compiled into a report which is then discussed with you, and will identify the following:







The audiologist will look into your ears using a light, called an otoscope, and check for anything in the ear canal that might affect the test results or require referral to your doctor or ENT. This quick, painless, examination is similar to the ear examination performed by a doctor.





Trial hearing aids

Services

Online assessments

Hearing Test

How a hearing loss can impact you

The benefits of hearing aids

Quick Links:

How your hearing works

Ear Examination

The audiologist will also take measurements, known as tympanometry, that will provide information about how the middle ear is functioning. This type of testing is particularly important in preschool children (ages 3–5), for whom hearing loss is more often associated with middle ear disease.


Tympanometry assists in the detection of fluid in the middle ear, perforation of the eardrum, or wax blocking the ear canal. Tympanometry pushes air pressure into the ear canal, making the eardrum move back and forth. The test measures the mobility of the eardrum. Graphs are created, called tympanograms. These can reveal a stiff eardrum, a hole in the eardrum, or an eardrum that moves too much. The tympanogram is often recorded when children have middle ear infections.


This test is performed in a few minutes with a device called a tympanometer, and is quick and painless.

Middle Ear Testing

A pure-tone air conduction hearing test determines the faintest tones a person can hear at selected pitches (frequencies), from low to high. During this test, earphones are worn so that information can be obtained for each ear.


Sometimes, use of earphones for the test is not possible, such as when a child refuses to wear them. In these cases, sounds are presented through speakers inside a sound booth (called sound-field screening). Since sound-field screening does not give ear-specific information, a unilateral hearing loss (hearing loss in only one ear) may be missed.


The person taking the test may be asked to respond to the sounds in a variety of ways, such as by:



The results are recorded in an audiogram.


Sometimes, young children are given a more play-like activity to indicate response. The most common techniques involve visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) and conditioned play audiometry (CPA).


Visual reinforcement audiometry is the method of choice for screening children between 6 months and 2 years of age. The child is trained to look toward a sound source. When the child gives a correct response (e.g., looking to a source of sound when it is presented), the child is "rewarded" through a visual reinforcement. Example rewards include getting to watch a toy that moves or a flashing light.


Pure-Tone bone conduction. If there is a blockage, such as wax or fluid, in the outer or middle ears, a method called pure- tone bone conduction testing may be used. With this technique, the blockage is bypassed by sending a tone through a small vibrator placed behind the ear (or on the forehead). The signal reaches the inner ear (or cochlea) directly through gentle vibrations of the skull. This testing can measure response of the inner ear to sound independently of the outer and middle ears. In these cases, this test helps the audiologist determine the type of hearing loss being measured.

Pure-Tone Testing

The audiologist will also conduct tests of listening and speech. These results are also recorded on the audiogram. One test that the audiologist conducts during a hearing test is the speech reception threshold (SRT). This is used with older children and adults, and helps to confirm the pure-tone test results. The SRT records the faintest speech that can be heard half the time. Then the audiologist will also record word recognition or the ability to correctly repeat back words at a comfortable loudness level.

Speech Testing

Take our 5 minute hearing assessment!