Once your exam begins, your audiologist reviews all personal information with you and asks you questions that help narrow down the types of environments where you may be experiencing difficulty hearing.
Then your audiologist will look into your ears through an otoscope. This instrument is used to see the ear canal and the ear drum. Your audiologist will be able to see if there is earwax obstructing the canal or another cause for your hearing loss. Sometimes our audiologists in Osseo will conduct this evaluation with a video otoscope so you are able to see what’s inside too.
Next, your hearing test proper will begin with a pure tone test, which is conducted in a quiet environment. Your audiologist will place audiometer-connected inserts into the inside of your ears. This device transmits a series of tones at a variety of volumes to determine the threshold of your hearing capabilities. While the sounds are played you will be asked to answer yes or to push a button if you hear the sound.
Now begins the speech testing. Your audiologist will have you listen to a series of one and two syllable words at different volumes and ask you to repeat them. This determines the level at which you can detect and understand speech.
On occasion, our audiologists in Osseo, MN will conduct another test to determine how well you hear sentences in a noisy environment.