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Hearing test basics
What a hearing test is, and what it does not decide on its own.
A hearing test, or pure-tone audiometry, measures the quietest sounds you can hear at several pitches. Tympanometry looks at how the eardrum moves. Together with an ear examination, they help separate wax or middle-ear fluid from an inner-ear problem.
The test does not, by itself, choose a hearing aid or an operation. It is one part of the assessment. Children may need a different approach, and a failed screen is a reason for a fuller test, not a final label.
Sudden hearing loss should not wait for a routine appointment. Same-day assessment matters, especially if only one ear is affected.