Hearing Tests

Hearing impairment affects more than just your ability to hear — it affects your quality of life. Global Hearing Aid Clinic stresses the importance of an accurate and timely hearing test. The hearing evaluation is just the beginning of your treatment, and it’s essential to setting your unique care plan in motion and taking action on hearing loss. Your in-depth hearing evaluation will help us craft a treatment plan that renews your ability to hear, allowing you to truly hear your best and live life on your terms.

 

Step One: The Interview

The interview process helps our practice determine the extent of your hearing impairment and aids us in uncovering any specific areas requiring further attention. Some typical questions you’ll want to prepare for are:

  • Has anyone else in your family had hearing problems?

  • Have you had any illnesses or injuries that might have affected your hearing?

  • Have you taken any medications that might have contributed to hearing impairment?

  • Have you been exposed to loud noises in your workplace or while participating in leisure activities?

 

Step Two: The Examination

Our Toronto hearing care professionals take a close look inside your ear and figure out whether the hearing difficulty you are experiencing could be caused by an obstruction or damage to the ear canal or eardrum. We use a special instrument called an otoscope or video otoscope to inspect your outer ear.
 

Step Three: Hearing Tests

Next we’ll need to figure out the nature of your hearing loss. There’s a chance we will include hearing tests such as the following:

  • Air conduction and bone conduction pure tone threshold search from 250Hz to 8kHz

  • Speech reception threshold and word recognition testing.

  • A middle-ear evaluation to measure how your eardrum and other mechanical parts of your middle ear react to varying degrees of air pressure

 
If you are suffering from a hearing impairment, your results will be documented on an audiogram. An audiogram is created after you take a pure-tone hearing test, to map out the type, degree, and configuration of your hearing loss. The audiogram shows your hearing loss by frequency, as pitch and loudness of sounds change. Frequencies are measured in hertz (Hz), and the loudness or intensity is measured in decibels (dB). We will help determine whether you have trouble hearing low or high pitches and what that means for you moving forward.
 

Step Four: Treatment Options

Hearing Aids
We will work with you to match your lifestyle needs with the most advanced technology, specifically designed to treat your unique hearing loss. The basic components of this instrument include a microphone, an amplifier, a receiver, and a tiny processor. The exceptional effectiveness of your devices is the result of a powerful combination of professional experience, software, and hardware.

Surgery & Implants
It is possible to surgically insert devices into the ear to improve hearing, facilitate lip-reading, and make it easier to distinguish certain sounds. Typically, these are most helpful if you are deaf or profoundly hearing impaired and hearing aids are not a useful treatment for you. Surgical implants include:

  • Cochlear implants

  • Middle-ear implants

  • Bone-anchored hearing aids

  • Auditory brainstem implants

Frequently Asked Questions

How is hearing tested in newborns?
Before your child leaves the hospital, they’re given an otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test. When sleeping, an earphone and microphone are placed in the ear, sounds are played, and their response is measured. If the newborn does not have a hearing impairment, an echo is reflected back into the ear canal being measured by the microphone. When a baby does have a hearing loss, no echo can be measured on the OAE test. This test is generally administered twice. Please see our section about child hearing loss for more information on hearing impairment and preventive measures for all ages.
How long does a hearing test take?
Approximately 20 minutes.
How often should I get my hearing tested?
This depends on lifestyle as well as age. Typically, we recommend a baseline assessment before 40 years of age, retesting every 5 years if no hearing loss is detected, retesting every 2 years when hearing loss is present (especially if hearing aids are worn) and testing as required during case management. If you are exhibiting signs and symptoms of hearing loss, please call today to schedule an appointment. Signs include but are not limited to:

• Feeling that people mumble
• Having to turn up the volume on television, telephone, or personal listening devices
• Trouble following conversations in busy venues (concerts, restaurants)
• Fluctuations in your hearing
• New internal ear noises such as ringing, buzzing or humming

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