Audiometric Testing in Wilmington & Southport, NC

Audiometric testing is the clinical process of evaluating a person’s hearing across a range of frequencies and intensities to determine the type, degree, and configuration of any hearing loss. It is the foundational diagnostic tool in audiology — and the starting point for all hearing care.

At Excel Audiology, Dr. Jason Rickman, Au.D. uses a full suite of audiometric testing procedures to ensure an accurate and complete picture of your auditory health.

What Is Audiometric Testing?

Audiometric testing refers to a battery of hearing tests conducted in a calibrated, sound-treated testing environment. The results are recorded on a graph called an audiogram, which plots your hearing thresholds — the softest sounds you can hear — across a range of frequencies from low (250 Hz) to high (8,000 Hz and beyond).

Audiometry is used to screen for and diagnose hearing loss, determine the type of hearing loss (conductive, sensorineural, or mixed), establish baseline hearing levels for occupational monitoring, guide hearing aid selection and programming, and monitor hearing changes over time.

Components of a Full Audiometric Evaluation

Pure-Tone Air Conduction Testing

The foundation of audiometry. You’ll wear headphones and press a button each time you hear a tone at various pitches and volumes. This maps out what you can hear through the normal air-conduction pathway.

Bone Conduction Testing

A small vibrating device placed behind your ear sends sound vibrations directly through the skull bone to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear. Comparing air and bone conduction results determines whether hearing loss is conductive, sensorineural, or mixed:

  • Air-bone gap present = conductive component
  • Air and bone equal and reduced = sensorineural hearing loss
  • Both elevated, air worse than bone = mixed hearing loss

Speech Audiometry

In addition to pure tones, speech testing assesses how well you understand the spoken word — including Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) and Word Recognition Scores (WRS). See our Hearing Tests page for full details.

Tympanometry

Evaluates middle ear and eardrum function. See our Tympanometry page for full details.

Acoustic Reflex Testing

Tests the involuntary contraction of a small muscle in the middle ear in response to loud sounds. Helps identify whether hearing loss is cochlear or retrocochlear in origin.

Understanding Your Audiogram

After testing, Dr. Rickman will explain which frequencies you hear normally and which are affected, the degree of hearing loss at each frequency, whether left and right ears show different patterns, what the results mean for everyday communication, and what treatment options are appropriate.

Audiometric Testing for All Ages

Excel Audiology provides audiometric evaluations for adults of all ages. If you are concerned about a child’s hearing, please contact us to discuss appropriate options.

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