Hearing Test

An audiometric evaluation, or hearing test, is a graphical representation of how well a person hears. For adults, a series of tones will be presented and responses to these tones create a “picture” of their hearing ability. A test to measure speech understanding will also be performed. Children under the age of 5 will be tested in a “game-like” setting that includes picture boards and tones. Younger children will be evaluated with a test called Otoacoustic Emissions. This test requires no active participation from the child. A soft tip is placed in the ear and a series of sounds are introduced into the ear canal. Results of this test give a general idea of the child’s hearing and a more structured evaluation will be performed when the child’s age permits.