Skip to main content
 

Hearing Evaluation

At this appointment your audiologist will give you an accurate picture of your hearing and discuss the most appropriate treatment for your hearing needs.

Overview

Your audiologist will conduct specialized testing to discover whether a hearing loss exists, the exact degree and type of hearing loss, and the best treatment options going forward. A full diagnostic assessment includes several audiology tests and includes a written report for you and your physician. Please allow approximately one hour. Medical hearing evaluations are covered by most insurance plans.

Marin Hearing Center’s audiologists offer a full range of diagnostic hearing evaluations, including comprehensive evaluations for children aged 5 and up and adults. Our audiograms can be used for a medical diagnosis, hearing aid device prescriptive targets, ototoxic medication monitoring, employment exams, and hearing loss management. Services also include hearing monitoring and conservation services for people with particular needs, such as musicians, law enforcement, those who work in noisy environments and people taking medications that may harm their hearing or are undergoing medical treatments that affect hearing.

No waiting for test results!

We’ll review results with you immediately following the exam. Our hearing evaluations are much more comprehensive than the free hearing tests given by a hearing aid dispenser at retail hearing aid stores, and are conducted and interpreted by a licensed audiologist with a Doctor of Audiology degree.

otoscopic examination

Our comprehensive hearing evaluations include:

Health history

We will obtain information about your general and hearing health as well as any specific events or ototoxic drugs that may have affected your hearing. We will also discuss the various situations in which you notice difficulty hearing.

Otoscopic inspection

We will use an otoscope to examine your ear canal and eardrum. We'll check for any earwax accumulation, signs of infection or abnormalities. If there is an accumulation of wax, we can remove it for you prior to your hearing evaluation. If the wax is impacted or too far into the ear canal we will refer you to an Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist for removal.

Puretone air and bone conduction audiometry

Soft tones presented at various frequencies determines the type and degree of hearing loss.

Speech audiometry

This test determines how well you understand speech. Your speech understanding ability score is highly valuable, especially for those that have difficulty hearing people clearly.

Specialized hearing evaluation services:

Speech-in-noise testing

We measure your speech understanding in the presence of background noise. Often the most difficult situation for those with hearing loss, we can evaluate your ability to hear speech while cocktail type noise is heard at the same time.

Impedance audiometery

Often referred to as pressure testing, tympanometry, eustachian tube dysfunction testing or acoustic reflex testing (middle ear exams) these specialized audiology tests look for any disfunction in the middle ear or conductive type of hearing loss.
Close Menu