Hearing Tests in Marietta, GA
A hearing test is easy, painless and it settles the question. You will leave knowing your audiogram and what it means for conversation, whether or not you ever buy a hearing aid from us.
IN SHORT
A hearing test at American Family Hearing Aid Center in Marietta, GA takes about 45 minutes with no obligation. We examine the ear canal, test tones across the speech frequencies in each ear, check how well you recognise words, and explain your audiogram the same day. No referral is needed.
Why schedule a hearing test?
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.5 billion people live with some degree of hearing loss, and that 430 million of them have loss serious enough to need treatment. In the United States it is the third most common chronic physical condition, after high blood pressure and arthritis.
The reason a baseline matters is that hearing loss almost never announces itself. It arrives gradually, without pain or discomfort, and the brain compensates so well that the change is invisible from the inside. Meanwhile the people around you quietly adapt: they repeat themselves, they face you when they speak, they stop mentioning it. Everyone adjusts, and nobody notices.
One test now gives you a number. In five years, change is easy to see against a baseline and nearly impossible to judge without one.
How do I know if I need one?
Most people are pushed into it by a family member rather than by their own observation, and that is not a failing. It is how gradual loss works.
If any of the signs below sound familiar, a test is worth the 45 minutes. So is a test if someone who lives with you has raised it more than once, even if you disagree.
Common signs of hearing loss
- Asking people to repeat themselves
- Turning the television or radio up to levels others find loud
- Trouble following conversation in noisy places
- Feeling that people mumble or slur their words
- Difficulty hearing women's and children's voices
- Trouble hearing on the telephone
- Feeling more irritable, tired or low than you used to
- Avoiding social situations you once enjoyed
- Struggling to follow a fast-moving conversation
- Missing information in meetings
- Being told by others that you are not hearing well
- Ringing or buzzing in the ears
The one that is not on any list
Exhaustion. If you are worn out by four in the afternoon after a day of meetings or a family lunch, that is often the effort of decoding speech rather than hearing it. Patients rarely mention it until we ask, and it is one of the first things that improves.
What the test actually involves
It is painless and there is nothing to prepare for. Testing takes place in a quiet, sound-treated space so that the air conditioning, the traffic and the office around you do not affect your scores. You wear headphones or soft insert earphones connected to an instrument called an audiometer.
We play tones at different pitches and volumes and you indicate when you hear them, which maps the quietest sound you can detect at each frequency. Then we check word recognition, which is a separate and arguably more important measure: how much of speech you correctly identify when it is loud enough to hear comfortably. Two people with identical audiograms can have very different word scores, and that difference changes what treatment can realistically achieve.
Before any of it, we look inside the ear canal with a video otoscope. A canal blocked with wax produces results that look like hearing loss and are not, and it is fixable the same visit.
What to expect at your appointment
About 45 minutes, in four parts.
Part one
Hearing analysis
We examine the ear canal and eardrum visually, then test your hearing to establish the type and degree of loss. Your results are plotted on an audiogram and we go through it with you properly, rather than handing over a chart.
Part two
Lifestyle discussion
Where do you actually struggle? A quiet home life and a busy job need different answers. This conversation determines the technology level far more than the audiogram does.
Part three
Options, if you need them
If you have hearing loss we show you the styles and technology levels that genuinely suit it, including what each one will and will not do. If you do not need hearing aids, we say so.
Part four
Cost and coverage
A written quote at more than one technology level, plus a check of your insurance. Some plans include a hearing aid benefit and a minority cover the full cost, so it is worth checking your specific policy rather than assuming either way.
What happens after the test
Three possible outcomes, and we will tell you plainly which one applies.
Your hearing is within normal limits. You leave with a baseline and a recommendation to retest in a year or two. That is a good result and it happens often.
Something needs a physician. Impacted wax, signs of infection, a perforation, sudden or one-sided loss, or an unusual audiogram pattern. We refer you rather than fit a device, and we will explain why.
You have hearing loss that hearing aids can help. We go through the realistic options at more than one price, you take the written quote away, and you decide in your own time. Nothing is ordered on the day unless you want it to be.
When a hearing test is not the right first step
If your hearing dropped suddenly, especially in one ear, see a physician the same day. Steroid treatment started within days gives a substantially better chance of recovery than treatment started weeks later. The same applies to ear pain, drainage or dizziness. Do not wait for a hearing aid appointment.
Common questions
What happens at a hearing consultation?
We examine the ear canal, test tones across the speech frequencies in each ear, check how well you recognise words, and explain your audiogram the same day. It takes about 45 minutes with no obligation to buy anything.
How long does it take?
About 45 minutes. That includes the examination, the testing and the conversation about what the results mean, which is the part we do not rush.
Do I need a referral from my doctor?
No. You can book directly. If the examination or the results point to something a physician should see, we refer you before fitting anything.
Does a hearing test hurt?
Not at all. You wear headphones or soft insert earphones and press a button or raise a hand when you hear a tone. Nothing enters the ear beyond a soft tip.
Should I bring anyone with me?
If you can. A family member notices things you cannot, helps set realistic expectations, and means two people hear the explanation rather than one.
How often should I be retested?
Annually once you are over about 60, or if you notice a change. Sooner if you work in noise. Change is easy to see against a baseline and hard to judge without one.
What is word recognition and why does it matter?
It measures how much speech you correctly identify at a comfortable volume, separately from how quiet a tone you can detect. It is the number that predicts how much hearing aids will actually help, and it is why two people with the same audiogram can have very different outcomes.
Find out where you actually stand
About 45 minutes, and most patients are seen within the same week. You will leave knowing your audiogram either way.
Sources. Global prevalence figures: World Health Organization, Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet. US prevalence ranking: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Figures reflect the most recent published estimates at the time of writing.