For many people the last time they had a hearing test was in elementary school. A hearing test is simple and painless. This is not a test that you have to prepare for.

The first step is taking a look in the ears to make sure the ears are healthy and are not blocked by anything such as wax or a growth in the ear canals. Next you will be fit with headphones and individual pure tones will be presented to you. They will be presented in each ear separately and one tone at a time. You will be asked to raise your hand or press a button when you hear the tones. The tones will progressively get softer and the softest level that you can hear each tone will be recorded on a graph called an audiogram. You will then be fit with something that looks like a head band. This has a small bone oscillator on it that tests your bone conduction. It works a lot like a tuning fork and tells us more about how well your ears are functioning.

A hearing screening can take as little as 5 to 10 minutes. A complete audiometric work up could take as long as an hour.

The only true way to know how well you hear is by having a professional hearing exam.