Free Tests at Sonant Hearing Clinic

Answer - Free hearing tests are often not comprehensive enough to reflect the true nature of one's hearing loss. On an audiogram where up to 10 frequency points could be tested for a comprehensive test. Free tests on High street chains often cover only 3 or 4 frequency points and Not the entire frequency range.  Such incomplete audiograms could cause one to continue to struggle with an undiagnosed hearing loss because the 3 points they checked at their "free" test was said to be normal, (the untested frequencies would have revealed a hearing deficit). 


Other instances of an incomplete test could be missing bone conduction threshold testing,  Missing intra-frequency octaves and no masking of air and or bone conduction thresholds.  Bone conduction testing is needed to confirm on both sides, the nature and type of the loss. Whether mixed, conductive or sensorineural.


With normal thresholds obtained from a pure tone audiometry hearing test. Free hearing tests will often not include speech audiometry hearing test. Speech hearing tests can be a closer representation of one's ability to discriminate speech in background noise or speech in quiet. The standard hearing test is a measure of one's hearing sensitivity, it doesn't always reflect the processing of speech in high centers of the brain. 


Often times, because High Street chains are mostly concerned about just selling hearing aids, middle ear pressure tests  - such as tympanometry are often not available and would not be available within a free test. Such tests are vital in confirming the status of one's middle ear (the area behind the eardrum susceptible to pressure changes as a result of the eustachian tube.) 


At Sonant Hearing  we offer a comprehensive hearing test which includes a full medical history, ear examination, full hearing test covering the entire frequency range spectrum with bone conduction and masking if applicable, tympanometry to evaluate the mobility of the eardrum and speech hearing tests to assess one's ability to discriminate speech in quiet and noise. 

This way you can be sure you have had a thorough evaluation of your hearing which in turn will increase the odds of successful management and/or treatment of your hearing concern. Our tests are not free because of the time taken to obtain the great level of detail needed to assess your hearing.