Diagnostic Evaluation
Our comprehensive examination provides a complete picture of your hearing loss to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for you.
When Should I Get My Hearing Checked?
At Capital Institute of Hearing & Balance, our doctors use a preventative care approach and recommend that anyone aged 60 and over have a baseline hearing exam and get retested every few years to monitor for changes.
This approach allows us to identify the earliest signs of hearing loss and educate you and your family on appropriate hearing protective devices and practices for preventing hearing loss.
If you are younger than 60 and have symptoms of hearing loss or work in a high-noise occupation, it is also recommended you have a baseline exam and get rechecked every few years. If you have already been diagnosed with hearing loss, you should get your hearing checked every year so that we can monitor for changes that may change your treatment plan or the prescription needed in your hearing devices.
How Is Hearing Tested?
A comprehensive audiological evaluation, or hearing exam, includes measurement of the function of different structures in the ear and auditory system as well as behavioral tests of hearing.
At Capital Institute of Hearing & Balance, we use these different tests to:
Determine the type and severity of your hearing loss
Identify possible underlying medical conditions
Describe the impact of your hearing loss
Define your prognosis and expectations
Determine the need for hearing aids or other assistive listening devices
All of which provide a complete picture that allows our doctors to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for you.
We encourage you to schedule an appointment today and take the first step towards hearing more, engaging more, imagining more, doing more, and living more.
Diagnostic Evaluation
A diagnostic evaluation should minimally include the following tests, but may also include more specialized testing:
Tympanometry: a measurement of the eardrum that is used to determine whether the membrane is intact and moving properly
Pure Tone Audiometry: a listening test, often referred to as the “beep test,” that is used to measure hearing sensitivity in order to determine type and severity of hearing loss
Otoacoustic Emissions: a measurement of the motility of the hair cells within the cochlea, or inner ear, that can detect the earliest signs of damage even before perceived hearing loss occurs
Acoustic Reflexes: a measurement of the muscle contractions in the middle ear, the area behind the eardrum, that is used to determine whether the middle ear bones, or ossicles, are moving properly; it can also be used to evaluate the integrity of the auditory nerve, or the nerve that connects the ear to the brain, and lower brainstem
Speech Audiometry: a test of an individual’s ability to understand speech sounds, words, or sentences.
