Test Preparation

How to be ready for the test

Do not come if you are sick or in pain. Active allergies, colds, sinus/ear infections can all cause fluid in the ear, resulting in temporary hearing loss and inaccurate test results. Please see your family doctor to treat the symptoms.

If you suspect you have built-up earwax, please visit your family doctor. We need to see at least 30% of your eardrum to perform the test.

Try to rest before the test and avoid loud sounds, as the test requires concentration by listening and responding to different sounds.

Give your ears time to recover from exposure to high levels of sound. Unmuffled lawn mowers, many power tools, motorcycles, rock music, gunfire—tend to create a temporary threshold shift (TTS), which diminishes with time after exposure. If you will be tested soon after such exposure, it may manifest as a hearing loss that does not accurately reflect the normal hearing threshold. It is important that the testing procedure includes some time interval, usually 16 hours, between the high-level sound exposure and the actual hearing test.

Take your significant other with you. We can assist both of you in overcoming the challenges involved with hearing loss and finding the best treatment based on your stories of how hearing loss impacts your relationship.