What You Need to Know About Hearing Tests

Having trouble following your favorite show? Missing details at work because you can’t hear in meetings? Hearing loss can leave you feeling left out. 

At Cleartone Hearing Aid Services & Medina Hearing Aid Services, we’re committed to helping you restore your hearing starting with a hearing test.

A hearing test is an essential part of maintaining your overall hearing health. Using a variety of screening and diagnostic methods, a hearing test can accurately gauge the extent of an impairment as well as which audio frequencies are most likely to be affected. In doing so, hearing tests can effectively identify the earliest signs of hearing loss, often before noticeable symptoms have begun to manifest to individuals. 

Even when no hearing loss is present, a hearing test can provide an invaluable baseline against which future declines may be more easily detected. Once diagnostics are complete, we can determine the best course of action.

Hearing Tests at Cleartone Hearing Aid Services & Medina Hearing Aid Services, Wooster and Medina, OH

There are several different types of hearing tests available.

Audiometry:
Perhaps the most commonly known hearing test, this diagnostic involves using headphones to listen to sounds of varying tones and volumes. When you hear a sound in your left ear, you are instructed to raise your left hand, for example. We will track and mark the responses.

Speech testing:
 It’s one thing to hear tones. It’s another to hear well enough to discern speech. That’s why we’ll conduct a speech test where we ask you to repeat a pre-set list of words and phrases. This will reveal whether you’re hearing speech with clarity.

There are several other types of tests available, each dedicated to revealing a certain aspect of your hearing health. We’ll examine your overall symptoms and determine which hearing tests best meet your needs.

What Happens During a Hearing Test?

Most hearing tests are conducted in a quiet room. You’ll be given a pair of headphones to listen to sounds, speech, or tones while we observe and note your responses.

It’s common to undergo multiple diagnostics during your hearing test, as each screening is designed to evaluate a different type of hearing loss. Once all diagnostic tests have been completed, we’ll evaluate your results.

What Does a Hearing Test Show?

Hearing tests, such as audiometry, are designed to provide enough information to determine the cause, type, and extent of hearing loss. Generally, hearing test results will be shown via a specialized graph called an audiogram. An audiogram is a graph with two axes: sound level (in dB) and tone.  

Your hearing range will be diagrammed out on this graph. Usually, there will be several data points–one for each tone tested, plotted at the edge of your hearing range. As a result, an audiogram will show:

What frequencies you hear well and which frequencies you have a harder time hearing.

The extent and severity of any hearing loss that may be present.

Usually, early hearing loss will affect one frequency more extensively than others. It’s not uncommon, then, to have dips in one area of an audiogram.

What Is the Normal Hearing Range?

The higher your data points appear on an audiogram, the closer you are to a normal hearing range. In general, a normal hearing range is considered to be the ability to hear sounds that are less than 25dB in volume–a sound level roughly equivalent to rustling leaves or whispered words. In general, we use the following categories to define normal hearing and hearing loss:

  • Normal hearing: The ability to hear sounds 0db-20dB and below.
  • Mild hearing loss: Sounds between 21dB-40dB are audible, but not softer sounds.
  • Moderate hearing loss: Sounds below 41dB-60dB are difficult for you to hear.
  • Severe hearing loss: Sounds below 61db-80dB are hard to hear.
  • Profound hearing loss: Sounds need to be louder than 81dB for you to be able to hear them. That’s roughly as loud as a lawnmower.

Typically, hearing loss does not occur evenly across all frequencies. Simply because your hearing is “normal” at some frequencies does not mean your hearing will be healthy in totality. It’s common to experience severe hearing loss when it comes to high frequencies, for example, but have normal hearing levels across the rest of the audio spectrum.

The Value of a Hearing Test

Whether your hearing is waning or you haven’t noticed any issues, a hearing test is an essential part of your hearing health. If your hearing is fantastic, screenings can provide peace of mind and a benchmark for future tests. And if you have hearing loss, a hearing test can provide a roadmap to the best possible treatment plan.

Do Any of These Sound Familiar? 

Hearing loss is one of the most common — and most ignored — health conditions in the United States. Because it usually develops gradually, most people adjust without realizing what they’re missing. By the time it’s obvious, significant damage has often already occurred. 

Ask yourself honestly whether you experience any of the following: 

  • You frequently ask people to repeat themselves, especially on the phone 
  • Conversations in noisy places — restaurants, family gatherings, church — feel exhausting or hard to follow 
  • People seem to mumble, even in quiet settings 
  • You turn the TV or radio louder than others around you prefer 
  • You find yourself nodding along in conversations you can’t fully follow 
  • You hear better when you can see someone’s face than when they’re speaking from another room 
  • A spouse, family member, or friend has suggested you get your hearing checked 

If two or more of these feel familiar, a hearing test is the right next step — and sooner is far better than later. 

Why it matters beyond just hearing better: Research has consistently linked untreated hearing loss to accelerated cognitive decline, increased dementia risk, depression, and social withdrawal. The auditory system, like any other, weakens when it isn’t engaged — meaning the longer you wait, the harder treatment becomes. A hearing test takes less than an hour. The information it gives you can make a meaningful difference in your health and your quality of life for years to come. 

Feel free to bring a spouse or family member with you — we welcome it, and they often notice things you may have adapted to. 

What Happens After Your Hearing Test at Cleartone?

Your test results don’t go into a folder — they start a conversation. Here’s what you can expect after your evaluation at our Wooster office:

Same-day results and review. Once testing is complete, we’ll sit down with you and walk through your audiogram in plain language. You’ll know exactly what your hearing looks like, which frequencies are affected, how significant any loss is, and what it means for daily life. 

An honest recommendation — not a sales pitch. Pat Strnad, our licensed audiologist with over 40 years of experience, and Steve Strnad, our Audioprosthologist and Navy veteran who was the first in the Wooster area to offer digital hearing aid technology, will explain your options clearly. If hearing aids are the right next step, we’ll discuss styles, technology levels, and what fits your lifestyle and budget. If your results are normal, you’ll leave with a documented baseline for tracking future changes — and peace of mind. 

A 30-day trial if you move forward. If you decide to try hearing aids, we offer a 30-day test drive so you can experience the difference before committing. 

Ongoing support as a partner, not a one-time transaction. From fitting and programming to adjustments and repairs, we’re here for the long haul. Our patients from Wayne, Holmes, and Medina counties have trusted Cleartone for decades — and that ongoing relationship is something national chains simply can’t replicate. 

Ready to find out what you may be missing?

Call or text our Wooster office at 330-946-5692 to schedule your hearing test. 

Reviewed by the audiologist at Cleartone Hearing Aid Services & Medina Hearing Aid Services

Still have questions? Ask our audiologist!