Hearing tests in Braddon

What actually happens in the two hours

Most people have never had a proper hearing assessment and assume it is the beep test they did at school. It is considerably more than that.

The conversation first

Before anything is switched on, Pooja will ask what you are noticing and when. Whether it is worse in groups. Whether one ear is worse than the other. Whether there is ringing. Whether you have had noise exposure at work, ear infections as a child, or a family history. This part matters, because two people with identical audiograms can have completely different problems.

Looking in the ear

Otoscopy, to see the ear canal and the eardrum. Occasionally this is where the appointment ends early and happily, because the problem turns out to be a canal full of wax rather than hearing loss at all.

The tests

• Pure tone audiometry, by air conduction and bone conduction. This maps the softest sound you can hear at each pitch, and comparing the two tells us whether the problem is in the middle ear or the inner ear.
• Speech testing. How well you hear tones and how well you understand words are two different things, and the second one is what actually affects your life.
• Tympanometry. Measures how the eardrum moves, which picks up fluid, pressure problems and perforations.
• Speech in noise, where it is relevant. This is the one that explains why you manage fine one-to-one and fall apart in a restaurant.

What the audiogram actually shows

Age-related hearing loss almost always starts in the high frequencies, and that is why it does not feel like going deaf. Vowels are low frequency and carry the volume. Consonants are high frequency and carry the meaning. When you lose the top end you can still hear that someone is speaking at a normal loudness. You just cannot tell the difference between "fifty" and "sixty", or catch a name first time.

This is why turning the television up does not really fix it, and why people conclude that everyone around them has started mumbling.

Who pays for it

Candid Hearing is a registered provider under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. If you hold a Pensioner Concession Card, a DVA card, or you are a member of a few other eligible groups, your assessment and a range of hearing devices are generally fully funded. There is no gap to find.

We are also registered with NDIS, Medicare and WorkCover, and can process claims for the major health funds. If you are paying privately, ask for the price when you ring. You should never arrive at a health appointment not knowing what it costs.

When to stop putting it off

Book an assessment if you recognise more than one or two of these:

• People seem to mumble, especially women and children.
• You can follow one person but not a group.
• The television is louder than everyone else in the house wants it.
• You avoid the phone, or you always take calls on the same ear.
• There is ringing or buzzing that nobody else can hear.
• Somebody who lives with you has raised it more than once.

That last one is worth taking seriously. The person who has to repeat themselves usually notices years before the person who cannot hear.

If you are not sure yet, the Hearing Clarity Quiz takes two minutes and will give you a straight answer about whether it is worth booking.