Hear Well for Life- Hearing resources

Hearing Testing

We will perform several tests to determine the nature and extent of your hearing loss. None of these tests are in any way painful or intrusive. At the end of the evaluation process we will know:

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The extent of your hearing loss.

The nature of your hearing loss.

Your ability to understand words clearly.

What hearing device will be most effective.

Utilizing the otoscope, the clinician will shine a bright light into your ear to illuminate the ear canal. During this exam the condition of the ear canal and eardrum are assessed for overall health. Next, a small plug is placed in the ear canal to measure the eardrum and middle ear system.

A soundproof booth is used to test the patient’s ability to hear low, medium, and high frequencies. Our comprehensive testing program includes an evaluation on how well a patient is able to participate in conversation in both quiet and noisy situations. Our office also has the ability to test infants and children. Call our office if you have specific questions about testing your child's hearing 408-356-1999.

Balance Testing

We also perform a Videonystagmography (VNG) test to evaluate the vestibular systems. The first test is to discover how well the patient can control their eye muscles by completing several eye movement tasks. During the second part of the test, the patient is placed in several different positions with their heads to the left or right. The last part of the test we place cool and warm air into the ears, one at a time, to stimulate the vestibular (balance) system. With the test results, we can determine if the vestibular system is functioning normally or abnormally. For more information about balance issues, click here to go to our FAQ., or take a self-test.