6 months - 3 years

Visual Reinforcement Audiometry is a hearing test technique for children aged from 6 months to approximately 3 years. The child sits on the parent's knee in the sound proof booth. The Audiologist will present sounds through speakers on either side of the child and will look for a behavioural response, typically a head turn to the sound. The Audiologist will then reinforce that behaviour with a puppet or animated screen to reward the child for responding to the sound.

3 years - 6 years

Play Audiometry is a hearing test technique used for children from around 3 years to around 6 years. It involves teaching a child a listening game where he/she will perform an action in response to the sound. The action may be putting a peg in a board or a dinosaur in a bucket. The child must wait until the sound is heard before performing the action. The Audiologist will ensure the child understands the concept of the game before attempting to place headphones on their ears.

6 years +

Pure Audiometry is a hearing test technique for children and adults 6 years and above. The patient is seated in the sound proof booth with headphones on and will press a buzzer when they hear a tone. The Audiologist will test both ears across a whole range of frequencies to determine the individual's threshold or softest sound they can hear for both ears.

Tympanometry

Tympanometry is a quick test we perform on all ages as a standard component of a routine assessment. The test measures the function of the middle ear system by gently pushing some air into the ear. This objective test allows us to see how well the ear drum is moving. This test can provide information about the status of the middle ear such as whether there is presence of otitis media or 'glue ear' , whether a ventilation tube or grommet is clear or whether the bones in the middle ear are moving adequately. It can also detect blockage in the eustachian tube, perforations of the ear drum or other middle ear abnormalities.

Speech testing

Speech testing is another component of a standard hearing assessment at MPA. It is used to check the reliability of the hearing test and assesses the individual's speech perception abilities. Younger children are assessed using a picture pointing task whereas older children and adults are asked to repeat words using a recorded voice.

Otoacoustic Emissions

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs) are a measure of the hair cell function in the inner ear. The Audiologist places a probe in the ear which produces sound into the ear. The probe then detects the sounds that comes back or the 'echo' of the sound. If all the parts of the ear including the middle ear and the tiny inner hair cells are functioning normally, the ear will produce a recordable echo of the sound. The patient does not need to respond to the sound so it is an objective hearing assessment which can be performed to obtain additional information about the function of the ear.