Hearing Loss

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What to Expect at your Health Care Provider's Office

The medical history will be obtained, and a physical examination performed.

Medical history questions documenting hearing loss in detail may include:

• Distribution
  • Is the hearing loss in both ears (bilateral)?
  • Is it in one ear only (unilateral)?
• Quality
  • Is the hearing loss mild or severe?
  • Is all of the hearing lost (inability to hear any sound)?
  • Decreased hearing acuity?
  • Decreased ability to understand speech?
  • Decreased ability to locate the source of a sound?
• Time pattern
  • How long has the hearing loss been present?
  • Did it occur before age 30?
• Other
  • What other symptoms are also present?
  • Is there tinnitus (ringing or other sounds)?
  • Is there ear pain?

• Audiometry (an electronic hearing test)
• Auditory response test
• CT scan of the head (if a tumor or fracture is suspected)
• X-ray of the head
• Tympanometry
• Caloric test
• MRI of the ear (see MRI of the head)