Hearing Evaluation

What to Expect

The hearing evaluation is a very important exam. Your hearing is measured in a sound booth. The frequency range 250-8000 Hz will be tested. These are the most important frequencies for speech understanding and hearing other environmental sounds.

You will be given instructions to respond to sound. Typically the sounds you will be listening for sound like a beeping sound. You will be asked to raise your hand, give a verbal response “yes”, or push a button whenever you hear the sound. You want to respond even when the sound is very quiet and you barely here it. This softest volume that you can barely here is called your threshold.
You will also likely be asked to repeat words. These words are spoken clearly and at a volume appropriate for your hearing. This part of the test is important, as it lets us know how well you would understand speech in a quiet room when the speaker is talking a good volume.

Following the hearing evaluation, the results will be shown to you and gone over in detail. The results are plotted on an audiogram, a graphical picture of your hearing on paper. Ask questions if you do not understand anything that is said.