Adult Hearing Assessment

Our adult hearing assessment service gives details on how each part of the hearing mechanism is functioning. It has 5 parts, History, Examination of the Ear, Middle ear analysis, the hearing test and Speech discrimination in quiet and in a background of noise.

The test results will be explained to you and appropriate recommendation will be made (possible E. N.T. referral or hearing aids).

The Hearing Test is carried out in a sound proof booth. The audiologist will measure the faintest sounds you can hear through headphones at different frequencies.

Speech Discrimination:

Words will be presented at a comfortable listening level through headphones and you will be asked to repeat them. The results gives the clinician further information on the status of your inner ear function, it can help diagnose processing difficulty and nerve damage and is a good indicator of possible benefit from a hearing aid.

Speech in Noise test: Most people with hearing difficulty find hearing in a background of noise more difficult, this test evaluates that difficulty. Sentences in a background of noise are presented.

Middle Ear Analysis:

This test will assess how sound travels through your ear. You will feel a short blocked sensation while a recording takes place. There are two parts to the test:

Tympanometry:

Measurement of how much each eardrum is moving and if that movement is within normal limits .It tells us if there is any fluid or congestion behind the eardrums. Presence of fluid behind the eardrum is called “glue ear”.

Acoustic Reflexes:

When we hear a loud noise, our ear protects itself with a reflex which stiffens the eardrum. We use this reflex to test the Facial and Auditory nerves.