Complimentary hearing assessment

Before you come for your hearing assesment, it might be helpful to think about the following:

1. Make a list of the symptoms you’re experiencing
2. Write down any questions you would like to to ask your hearing care expert
3. Make a list of illnesses and surgeries you have had
4. Think of a family member or friend you could ask to accompany you
5. In case you are interested, you can research hearing aid types
6. Check your health insurance policy to see how you can cover the cost
   Hearing aid financing
7. Reschedule your appointment if you become sick or are unable to attend

During the hearing assessment, the hearing care expert will look inside your ears using an instrument called an otoscope, which is pain free. It is designed to ascertain whether you have any obstructions or ear infections that might be temporarily affecting your ability to hear properly. In many cases, the issue will not be hearing loss related - but simply a build-up of too much earwax.

After that, you will be asked to listen to several sounds, usually a series of beeps  set at different frequencies, to determine if you have trouble hearing certain types of sounds. This part of the hearing assessment is known as 'audiometry’.

You may then be presented with a list of words, which will be read out to you  and which you will then be asked to repeat. This part of the hearing assessment is known as the ‘Familiar Voice Test’ , and this is when we will ask your friend or family member to take part in the testing, so that we can assess how well you understand a familiar voice.

Learn more about the procedure of the hearing test:
What to expect at a hearing assessment 

The results from your hearing evaluation will be shared with you and recorded on an audiogram. The hearing assessment results will tell us  if you have an audible hearing loss or not. Based on the hearing assessment, your hearing care expert will provide recommendations on next steps and what hearing care solutions might be right for you. 
If the hearing assessment shows that you have a hearing loss, the hearing care expert will likely recommend a form of hearing loss treatment. In case the treatment involves hearing aids, you will have the opportunity to see and assess different types of hearing aids, depending on your hearing loss and lifestyle needs. 

If you decide that you would like to get a hearing aid, a separate appointment will then be booked to fit your hearing aids and help you get used to them.

An online hearing test and a hearing assessment at a center with a licensed hearing care expert are two different things. 

An online hearing test is quick and gives an indication of how well you hear and whether a hearing assessment with a licensed hearing care expert would be relevant for you.

A hearing assessment at the center is conducted by a licensed hearing care expert and it gives you detailed information on how well you hear and whether you could benefit from wearing hearing aids. You get advice and recommendations based on your results. A hearing assessment at a center is aimed at those who suspect hearing loss and / or already have aids.

A hearing assessment is performed by a licensed hearing care expert and it consists of the following steps:

1. Discussing hearing concerns, medical history, and lifestyle factors.
2. Physical ear examination – Your hearing care provider will conduct a visual exam of your ears to understand if there are any medical explanations for your hearing loss.
3. Comprehensive hearing assessment – Which includes a series of tests – such as tone, speech, and word tests.

What happens at a hearing assessment

Finding a hearing center near you is a convenient way to get your hearing assessed quickly and easily. Find hearing center near you.

While receiving a hearing assessment from a certified hearing care expert is the only way to confirm if you have hearing loss or not, there are online hearing screening tests available which can give you an indication of whether you might have hearing loss. The online hearing test may use background noise, tone tests, and self-evaluation questions to provide you with a result of whether you might have hearing loss. Take our online hearing test.

Yes. At HearingLife, hearing care experts ensure accuracy by using assessment accuracy by using the latest technology and audiological equipment. All audiological devices and testing booths/conditions in HearingLife centers are calibrated annually as per industry standards and follow the professional guidelines to perform accurate and valid assessments. The hearing care experts are nationally accredited in the state they work in and are highly trained.

While there is no objective test available for tinnitus detection, a hearing care expert can perform tests during a hearing consultation to assess if the client has tinnitus. If tinnitus is detected, they can further assess the nature and severity of the tinnitus.

In most cases, once a year. If the client has been fitted with hearing aids and has stable hearing, it is recommended that the customer is seen on an annual basis for a regular check-up and adjustments of hearing aids as required. In some cases, if the client’s form of hearing loss requires more frequent monitoring, a hearing care expert may recommend regular monitoring of fluctuations in hearing (e.g. in the case of Meniere’s disease). 

It is recommended that you have a hearing care expert go through and explain the results from the series of tests they performed in the initial full assessment of your hearing. Most audiograms are plotted on graphs with pitches on the horizontal axis and loudness on the vertical axis. As the plots on the graphs go further down the graph, it indicates how much louder the sound signal had to be presented to you in order for you to hear the corresponding pitch which increases along the horizontal axis.