Hearing tests — what to expect

What a hearing test is

A hearing test measures how well you hear across the range of sounds that speech and daily life use. It is painless and usually takes about ``.

You will be in a quiet room with an audiologist. Nothing is inserted deeply, nothing is loud, and you can pause whenever you want.

A standard assessment usually includes:

• Pure-tone audiometry — you listen to soft beeps through headphones and respond when you hear them. This maps your hearing across low to high pitches.
• Speech testing — how clearly you hear and understand words, which is often what people actually notice first.
• A look at the ear itself — we check the ear canal and eardrum.
• Middle-ear and related checks — we test how the ear is working mechanically, and how the inner ear and hearing nerve are responding.

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BERA — Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry — is a separate, objective test used mainly with infants and young children. It does not need a spoken response from the child. See BERA for children.

What brings people in

People come to us for very different reasons, and the test is the same either way:

• Hearing that has changed with age — the television creeping up, "what?" more often, group conversations getting tiring.
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) — a sound that is not coming from outside.
• Hearing loss in one ear, or a sudden change in hearing.
• Trouble following speech in noise — hearing the sound, but not quite getting the words.
• A child who has not responded to sound as expected, or who has been referred by a doctor.

None of these is "just age", and none is necessarily a hearing aid. The test tells us what is actually happening.

A note for younger readers. Tinnitus, one-ear loss and hearing in noise are not an age bracket. We look at the symptom, not your age.

What the result looks like

At the end, we show you your audiogram — a chart with pitch across the bottom and loudness up the side. Your hearing thresholds are plotted on it as a line.

We will explain it in plain language before we discuss anything else: which sounds are easy for you, which are not, and what that means for the situations you described.

You leave with:

• a clear explanation of your hearing;
• a written record of the test;
• if a device is indicated, a recommendation you can take away and check with any doctor.

What it costs, and why

We explain the charge before you book, and we explain again at the appointment. There are no add-ons discovered afterwards.

Why we charge at all. Many centres advertise a free hearing test. We do not. The reason is simple and it is about you, not about price: a test that is free at the start is usually paid for at the end, in the device. A charge up front keeps the recommendation independent — you are buying an assessment, not entering a funnel. We would rather say that plainly than pretend the free test costs nothing.

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What happens next

1. We tell you the result. If your hearing is within normal limits, that is the outcome — we will say so, and we will not suggest a device.
2. If a device is indicated, we discuss it. Not a catalogue, not a discount — the device your hearing and daily life need, and the honest price band it falls into. See Hearing aids & honest price bands.
3. You can take your time. There is no "today only". Nothing here expires.

Sometimes the answer is "not yet". Some hearing changes are better watched than fitted. If that is the case for you, we will explain why and what to watch for. That is a complete outcome, not a lost sale.

Home visits

If travelling to the clinic is difficult — for an older parent, or because of mobility — we can carry out the assessment at home.

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Book a hearing test

• Secondary: Request a callback — if you would rather ask a question first, or you are arranging this for a parent.