The Hearing Exam

Your hearing test will be conducted by Sharon Christopherson. She uses a number of different procedures to determine if you have a hearing problem, where it is in a range of sound frequencies, and how severe it is.

Before the actual test begins, Sharon will ask you a number of questions. They will include questions about the noise you’ve been exposed to during your life, any injury or illnesses that might have affected your hearing, and any medications you might be taking.

Next, she will look into your ears using an instrument called an otoscope, a cone-shaped device with a light inside. She does this to see if there are any problems with your ear canals or eardrums.

Tone Tests
After looking in your ears, Sharon will take you to a booth that blocks out sounds from the outside and put earphones in your ears. You will be asked to push a button whenever you hear a tone. The sounds will get fainter and fainter as the test goes on. Both ears will be tested. Sharon will then do a similar test using bone conduction of sound. In this one, the sounds will be transmitted through the bone behind each ear to the inner ear.

Speech Tests
Speech tests come next. In these, Sharon will speak words and ask you to repeat them. First, she will say two-syllable words. These will get softer and softer until you can’t hear them. Next, she will ask you to repeat a series of one-syllable words. The volume of these words will stay the same.

Impedance Test
The third test tests your middle ear. Sharon will put a probe in your ear, then increase or decrease air pressure on the probe. This test will indicate how well your eardrums are moving and if there are any middle ear problems that may possibly need medical attention.

Although you will have to concentrate on the sounds you hear – and that may feel like work – none of these tests are uncomfortable or painful.

The results of the tests will be combined to produce a graph called an audiogram. The audiogram shows the relative ability of your right and left ear to hear sounds at various frequencies. The left side of the graph represents very low tones, and the right side very high ones. Hearing loss often happens in the area of high tones, but every individual is different. Here’s what an audiogram looks like:






Sharon will explain what the exam means. If you do not understand anything, you should ask questions until everything is clear. If you have a hearing loss, Sharon may suggest a hearing aid or a pair of hearing aids. Click here to hear more about the various kinds of hearing aids.