Hearing Test Specialist

Sharp Hearing Care Professionals

Audiology located in Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and Tarzana, CA

Adults generally don’t get routine hearing tests, so as long as your hearing is fine. This makes it’s easy to let years roll by without ever having it checked. But like all preventive healthcare, it’s better to identify ear and hearing changes early with a comprehensive evaluation, like those offered by Kevin Sharim, and his team at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals in Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Tarzana, and Santa Monica, California. To schedule your hearing test, call the office that’s nearest you, or use the online booking system.

Hearing Test Q & A

What signs indicate I need a hearing test?

Most people schedule a hearing test when they notice changes in their hearing. But you may not notice changes at an early stage because hearing loss happens so gradually. As a result, this may delay treatment. Meanwhile, your progressive hearing loss affects your ability to communicate and causes unnecessary stress.

You may want to schedule a hearing test when you notice any of these signs:

You need to increase the volume on your television
You can’t understand others when there’s background noise
You misunderstand what others say
You often ask others to repeat what they just said
It often sounds like people are mumbling

You may also have a hard time hearing higher-pitched sounds like women’s voices.

What happens during my hearing test?

Every hearing test begins with a review of your medical and hearing history. Your audiologist at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals learns about your symptoms, your exposure to loud sounds, and whether you have a family history of hearing problems.

The next step is a physical examination of your ears using an otoscope. Your audiologist can detect signs of infection, earwax buildup, ear damage, and other problems that might be the source of your hearing changes. Once your ear exam is complete, it’s time to move on to the actual hearing test.

What types of tests might I have during a hearing test?

You’ll have several tests to determine if the sound waves entering your ear make it to your brain. A basic hearing test includes:

Pure tone audiometry

This is the key test to detect the degree and type of hearing loss you may have. You’ll wear headphones and listen to a series of tones, while your audiologist controls the volume. You indicate when you can hear the sound by raising your hand or pressing a button.

Bone conduction

During this test, your audiologist at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals sends vibrations through a bone, directly into your inner ear. The results show if you have problems in your outer or middle ear.

Speech-reception threshold and word recognition

You’ll hear a series of simple words played at different volumes. You repeat the ones you hear. This test measures how well you can hear and understand language.

Your audiologist may perform additional hearing tests, depending on the outcome of the first three.

If you’re worried about hearing loss, schedule a hearing test at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals, call the office nearest you, or use the online booking feature today.

What we offer