Home Sleep Study or Hospital Lab: Choosing the Right Test
January 25, 2026
Many people notice they need to turn up the TV volume, ask others to repeat, or feel sounds are not as clear as before. A hearing test (audiogram), can help you know whether it’s a temporary change or an early sign of hearing loss that needs treatment.
Test results help your audiologist understand how much is hearing problem and whether it is because of middle ear or inner ear/hearing nerves. It also helps in deciding the best hearing aid for you.
This blog explains what audiometry or hearing test is, when to get a hearing test done, how it is done, and different types of hearing tests.
Read next post if you want to know how to read your hearing test results.
When Hearing Loss is Often Missed
Hearing loss is often mistaken for not paying attention or ‘not listening.’ Children may be labelled inattentive in class when they are actually missing parts of speech. If someone frequently asks you to repeat or struggles in noisy places, get a quick hearing check.
An audiogram is a graphical record of how you hear different sounds.
Audiometry is the most common and reliable hearing test to check for hearing loss, done by an audiologist in a soundproof booth. You’ll wear headphones, listen to tones of different pitches, and signal when you hear each sound.
This test helps the ENT specialist identify:
These are safe and painless; here are different types of hearing tests
This measures how softly you can hear various tones through air and bone conduction. In other words, it measures your hearing ability across a range of hearing frequencies.
If the issue is in the middle ear (like fluid, wax, or infection), it shows a conductive loss.
If it’s in the inner ear or nerve, it’s a sensorineural loss.
You’ll be asked to repeat words at different volumes. This gives us speech discrimination scores means speech audiometry checks how well your ear and brain understand speech, not just sound.
While testing hearing for children, audiologist may use some toys. In first few visits child may be taught or trained to respond to sound, called as conditioned play audiometry.
Sometimes, the ENT doctor adds other simple tests to understand the ear condition better:
Measures how well your eardrum and middle ear ossicles (3 tiny hearing bones) moves. It tests eustachian tube function and middle ear issues.
OAE checks inner ear (cochlear) function, performed in new born and infants as universal hearing screening protocol.
BERA is a type of hearing test which measures nerve signals from the ear to brain. This is objective hearing test and does not need a patient to respond.
Newborns who fail hearing screening test (OAE), young children below 4 years of age, who cannot follow instruction of audiometry, or certain adults, may need ABR test.
You don’t have to wait for severe hearing loss to get hearing checked. It is useful even as an annual health check-up in children, adult above 45 years or those working in noisy work environment.
You need a hearing test or pure tone Audiogram, if you have –
Children or adults can have subtle hearing loss after repeated ear infections or allergies.
You should not delay hearing testing if you notice:
Testing early helps prevent permanent loss and guides quick treatment
What Happens During a Hearing Test (Audiogram)
The test usually takes 20–30 minutes, each ear is measured separately.
It is completely painless
No special preparation or fasting is needed.
You’ll sit in a quiet sound treated room and listen to sounds through headphones on the ear (Air conduction) and probe on your bone behind the ear (Bone conduction).
Audiometer is the equipment used to check hearing. Audiologist will present the tone or beep sound at different hearing frequencies with different volumes.
Like during vision test you read different size letters to know your vision, same way during hearing test you listen to different volume sounds.
You need to respond if you hear the sound by raising your finger or pressing a button.
Each sound is presented multiple times to check consistency and to filter unreliable response. So, it’s okay if you feel like you missed some tones.
Sometimes, audiologist may mask your non-test ear with some noise (presented through same audiometer) to prevent it from responding.
Your responses are plotted on a graph (audiogram) and results are available immediately after the hearing test.
During speech audiometry you will wear headphones or insert earphones. Difference here is rather than tone, you will hear words and you will repeat these.
Speech audiometry result will tell us how soft you can hear and understand.
A standard hearing test or audiogram is affordable and gives immediate clarity about your hearing health.
Usually cost of hearing test or audiometry in Navi Mumbai ranges from 800-900/ INR for a pure tone audiometry.
You can book your test at our Vashi ENT & hearing clinic quick, painless, and explained by a team of experienced ENT specialist and audiologist.
A hearing test or audiometry is a simple, accurate and painless test to check your hearing.
Hearing thresholds are tested in a quiet sound treated room using headphone or a bone vibrator probe.
A timely hearing test or pure tone audiogram helps your audiologist detect small changes in hearing early, when treatment is most effective.
An audiometry helps an ENT specialist understand if it is a treatable hearing loss which require medicine or surgery or a permanent neural hearing loss which need hearing aids.
If you’re in Navi Mumbai and have noticed muffled sounds, ringing, repeated ear infections, or hearing difficulty in noisy area, book your hearing test at our Vashi ENT & Hearing Clinic and get expert guidance from Dr Archana Jhawar, ENT specialist Navi Mumbai.
Early diagnosis can protect your hearing.
Learn what your audiogram results mean
If your ear feels blocked after a cold or infection, or doesn’t clear in a few days, a hearing test is needed to know whether it’s fluid or permanent type of hearing loss. Hearing test guides the right treatment
Children with learning difficulties, adults working in noisy environments, people with diabetes, or anyone with repeated ear infections should have periodic hearing testing. Early testing makes treatment more effective
You should get immediate hearing testing if you notice sudden hearing loss, persistent ringing the ear, or drop in hearing after an ear infection or cold. Prompt testing helps prevent permanent loss and guides timely treatment.
You should visit a hearing clinic, where both works as a team. Audiologist is a health professionals who test hearing and an ENT specialist is an medical expert specializing in diagnosing and treating hearing and ear issues. It is best to have both under one roof.
You can visit our ENT and hearing Clinic in Vashi, Navi Mumbai for audiometry and other advanced hearing tests.
We have an expert team of ENT specialist Dr Archana Jhawar, and experienced audiologist.
Hi, I’m Dr. Archana Jhawar, an ENT specialist with over 24 years of experience. I specialize in tinnitus treatment, vertigo , ear care, and ear surgeries, practicing at Neoalta Clinic, Vashi, and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Navi Mumbai. I’ve trained in vertigo management and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), combining science with compassion to offer holistic, evidence-based care. I’m passionate about writing, poetry, music, yoga, and photography.
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