A complete audiological evaluation is the first step to good hearing health and is necessary for a successful outcome.  The diagnostic audiological evaluation is not merely a hearing test.  Our patients are carefully questioned about the type and severity of problem they are having with their hearing.  The assessment of their hearing involves differential diagnosis of the type (conductive or sensorineural) and degree of hearing loss.  Tympanograms, acoustic reflex testing, and otoacoustic emissions augment the pure-tone and speech recognition evaluations to result in not just an audiogram, but a clear picture of the patient's overall auditory condition.  This information is of great value to the physician when determining the need for medical treatment and is vital for making appropriate recommendations for assistive listening devices and/or hearing aids.

Our comprehensive test battery follows best practices guidelines established by The American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and The American Academy of Audiology (AAA).  A comprehensive diagnostic evaluation includes:    

• Complete medical and hearing case history
• Otoscopy or video otoscopy to examine the external ear canal and the ear drum for any abnormalities
• Behavioral pure-tone audiometry to determine and graph hearing sensitivity
• Behavioral procedures to obtain speech detection/awareness/reception/recognition thresholds in quiet and in noise to determine the ability to hear and understand speech
• Acoustic immittance evaluation consisting of tympanometry, static immittance, and acoustic reflex measures to evaluate the status of the middle ear and lower auditory brainstem.
• Otoacoustic emission evaluation to provide and objective measure of inner ear integrity.

For more information, please call us @ 247-4466.