Hearing assessments for all individuals and children are available without a doctor’s referral. All results will be discussed with you and provided to your GP should any further medical treatment be appropriate.
Sonic Hearing’s testing facilities and Audiologists are approved by the Office of Hearing Services for providing government-funded hearing services to pensioners and DVA card holders, who hold an Office of Hearing Services Voucher. To find out about obtaining an Office of Hearing Services Voucher, please contact us on 1800 188 338 or fill in an on-line enquiry form and we will post the relevant application forms to you.
Sonic Hearing is also accredited by WorkCover to provide a full range of employment-related hearing tests:
- Pre-employment medical hearing tests
- WorkCover Air Conduction Assessments
- WorkCover Full Baseline Assessments
- WorkCover Subsequent Baseline Assessments
- Pilot's Licence Hearing Tests
- Truck Driving Hearing Tests
- Diving Hearing Tests
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A HEARING TEST
When you come for a hearing assessment, your Audiologist will take a comprehensive history from you, including:
- a detailed description of the situations when you have difficulty hearing
- any history of noises in your ears (tinnitus)
- any instances of vertigo
- whether you have had ear infections or ear surgery
- your exposure to noise during your lifetime, including gunfire
- your family history of deafness
- any major head injuries
Following this, a thorough examination will follow, including:
- Otoscopy: a visual check of the health of your ears
- Tympanometry: a painless test, which evaluates the pressure within your ears and the mobility of your ear drum and middle ear bones
- Pure Tone Audiometry: conducted in a sound proof booth, you will be asked to listen to whistle-like sounds of different loudness and pitches to find the softest sounds you are able to hear
- Speech Discrimination Testing: you will be asked to listen to different words and repeat them. This test verifies the accuracy of previous tests and if you have a hearing loss, it helps your Audiologist establish how likely are hearing aids to help you
AFTER YOUR HEARING TEST
Following your hearing test, the Audiologist will explain the results and discuss with you:
- The extent and likely cause of your hearing loss
- Do you need to see an Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist
- Are hearing aids likely to help you
- The different hearing aids which are available
- Other technology apart from hearing aids which may assist you
- Your specific day-to-day communication needs and difficulties and any other individual factors and how those can be addressed with hearing aids and/or other technology or solutions
Please explore the Hearing Aids section of this website for further information on how to choose a hearing aid and the different choices available.