Comprehensive Adult Hearing Assessment
When you attend our service for a hearing assessment, we will begin by having a chat about why you’ve come to see us, followed by a thorough review of your medical history. This information is collected confidentially and stored securely in accordance with GDPR standards.
Medical History:
Past medical history: Frequent ear infections, past surgery on your ears, and your general health.
Tinnitus / Vertigo: Is this bothersome? Does it occur in one ear or both? Is your dizziness triggered by particular movements?
Ototoxic drugs: Have you taken any drugs that could affect your hearing, such as chemotherapy,
Current health concerns: Any ongoing illnesses, medications, or allergies that may impact your hearing?
Dexterity issues: Are there any concerns regarding your dexterity? If so, what aids would best suit you?
This comprehensive medical history allows the audiologist to gain insight into the condition of your ear health, ensuring that the most appropriate care is provided.
Pre-Assessments:
Ear Examination:
Using a video microscope (which allows you to see what we see), we will check to ensure the pinna and ear canal are clear of blockages, such as earwax, and examine the health of your eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the canal walls.
Tympanometry:
Tympanometry is a test to measure how well the middle ear is functioning.
A small, soft probe is placed to seal your ear canal.
The probe changes the air pressure in the ear canal while playing a tone and measures how well the eardrum moves in response.
This movement helps us assess the flexibility of the middle ear bones (ossicular chain), which is important for sound transmission.
Standard Assessment:
Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA):
Air Conduction (AC): This test is performed in a soundproof booth. Headphones are placed over your ears, and a response button is provided for you to indicate when you hear the sounds presented. We are aiming to determine the faintest sound you can hear.
Bone Conduction (BC): A small bone conduction vibrator is placed behind your ear on the mastoid bone. This test helps us determine if you have a sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, or mixed loss.
Masking: Masking is performed if there is a difference between the air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) thresholds, or if there is a significant difference between the thresholds of each ear. A broadband noise is introduced to the good ear to ensure we are testing the worse ear.
Additional Assessments:
Speech Testing:
Speech testing is performed using headphones. It involves presenting monosyllabic words (Words with consonant vowel consonant, such as ship (sh, i, p)). You will be asked to repeat the words, and we will score your responses to determine your Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT)—the level at which you can recognize 50% of speech. This helps the audiologist determine how well you may hear speech once fitted with hearing aids.
Speech-in-Noise Test (QuickSIN):
QuickSIN is performed with headphones. A series of short sentences are played, and you repeat what you hear. The results are then used to assess your ability to understand speech in background noise, providing the audiologist with information to make recommendations for hearing aid fittings and any accessories you may need.