We provide hearing tests FREE-OF-CHARGE to anyone 18 years of age and older. These tests are available without a referral.

If you are concerned about your hearing health in any way, Omni Hearing wants to help.

Complementary hearing tests are just one of the ways we show customers how much we care. All hearing tests at Omni Hearing are conducted by a licensed hearing care professional.

Each test takes only thirty minutes and can provide us with a wealth of information about the current state of your hearing health.

We also welcome family members and friends to attend hearing tests so they can ask questions and provide us with any information the individual might forget to mention. The more information we have, the better we can determine your hearing care needs.

When you come for a hearing care appointment at Omni Hearing, we will begin by having you fill out a case history questionnaire. This will be followed by an ear canal examination (otoscopy) and series of comprehensive hearing tests, including: impedance audiometry, pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry.?Omni Hearing will compile the results of your hearing evaluation.

With your consent (and if necessary), results can be forwarded to your family physician or any specialists free of charge.

CASE HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRES

Omni Hearing uses case history questionnaires to help determine your medical history and establish a baseline for your hearing needs that allow us to provide effective recommendations for hearing treatment.

Common questions found on the Case History Questionnaire include the following:

• Are you currently taking any medication?
• Do you currently wear a hearing aid?
• Do you ever experience a ringing or buzzing in your ears?
• Have you ever had surgery on your head, neck or ears?
• Have you ever had your hearing tested before?
• Have you ever seen a doctor about your hearing?
• Have you ever worked in a position where you were exposed to prolonged periods of loud noise?
• Have you recently noticed a decrease in your ability to hear?

EAR CANAL EXAMINATION (OTOSCOPY)

An otoscope is a device used to examine your ear canal. Ear canal examinations help to rule out the presence of impacted earwax or other obstructions. They also help us to determine the overall health of your outer and middle ear.

IMPEDANCE AUDIOMETRY TESTS

Impedance audiometry tests provide information about the health of the middle ear. The most commonly used impedance audiometry tests are listed below:

• Tympanometry Tests ? used to measure ear canal volume, ear drum health, and middle ear pressure.
• Acoustic Reflex Tests ? detects the stapedius muscle?s ability to react to loud sounds.

PURE TONE AUDIOMETRY

Pure tone audiometry tests are used to represent the shape, type and condition of hearing loss. These tests measure your ear?s ability to respond to and detect loud sounds, soft sounds and different sound frequencies.

A pure tone audiometry consists of two types of tests:

• Air conduction test ? measures the softest sounds that can be heard by an individual processed by the outer and middle-ear.
• Bone conduction ? measures the softest sounds heard by an individual which bypass the outer and middle-ear. Bone conduction tests help to determine the location of a hearing loss problem.

SPEECH AUDIOMETRY

Speech audiometry determines sounds perceived as being comfortable or uncomfortable. It is also used to test your ability to discriminate speech. Speech audiometry results are referred to by Omni Hearing?s experts when they recommend a specific hearing aid or device. Speech audiometry is most effective when performed in an individual?s first language ? Omni Hearing will always try to facilitate this service.

AUDIOGRAMS

An audiogram is a graph that plots air and bone conduction test results.

AUDIOGRAMS ARE INTERPRETED USING THE FOLLOWING KEYS AND TERMS:

• O ??represents results for the right ear
• X ??represents results for the left ear
• Frequencies ? measured in hertz (Hz) – found horizontally on the (x-axis)
• Loudness ? measured in decibels (dB) – found vertically on the (y-axis)

In audiograms, low-frequency sounds are located towards on left side of the graph and high-frequency sounds are represented on the right. Louder sounds are located at the bottom and softer sounds are at the top.