Hearing Assessments in London

Comprehensive, in-depth and bespoke testing at London Hearing
Our audiologists are highly trained to conduct various tests when it comes to your hearing. Working alongside leading ENT consultants, we ensure all protocols are followed and a thorough and comprehensive battery of tests are conducted to fully diagnose and treat the hearing condition.
The Specialist Hearing Tests Conducted at London Hearing Include:
Pure Tone Audiometry
Pure tone audiometry is conducted to determine the softest sounds a person can hear across a range of frequencies. During the test, tones are presented through headphones and, when needed, a small bone vibrator, allowing hearing thresholds to be measured via both air and bone conduction pathways. Comparing these results helps determine not only the degree of hearing loss, but also its type and location, such as sensorineural, conductive, or mixed hearing loss.
Tympanometry
Tympanometry is a quick, objective test used to assess how well the middle ear is functioning. It evaluates how effectively sound travels through the middle ear system by measuring eardrum movement in response to changes in air pressure. Tympanometry helps identify middle ear conditions such as fluid behind the eardrum, eustachian tube dysfunction, and other disorders that can affect sound transmission to the inner ear. As different conditions can produce similar results, tympanometry is always interpreted alongside other hearing tests to support accurate diagnosis and management.
Speech Audiometry
While reduced hearing sensitivity on a pure-tone hearing test often leads to difficulty understanding speech, people with similar hearing levels can experience very different speech understanding abilities. Speech audiometry helps identify how effectively an individual can access and recognise speech at different volume levels
This is typically measured by presenting word lists at a range of intensities and calculating word recognition scores.
ACT
ACT (Audible Contrast Threshold) is designed to predict how well a person with hearing loss can understand speech in noisy environments. Instead of using tones or speech, ACT measures a listener’s ability to detect differences in modulated noise, revealing how much sound contrast is needed to distinguish between sounds.
The test is also automatically tailored to each individual’s hearing loss. By incorporating the shape and level of the client’s pure-tone audiogram into the test signals, ACT delivers a personalized measure of real-world speech-in-noise performance.
Quick SIN
This test is used to assess how well a person understands speech in noisy environments. It provides a rapid estimate of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss, which describes how much louder speech needs to be compared to background noise for the listener to understand it.
OAE
Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are soft sounds generated by the outer hair cells of a healthy cochlea in response to sound stimulation. Measured using a small probe placed in the ear canal, OAEs provide an objective, ear-specific assessment of cochlear (outer hair cell) function and do not require any behavioural response from the patient. Although OAEs do not assess the entire hearing pathway, they are widely used in newborn hearing screening and are valuable in diagnosing hearing loss conditions.
Acoustic Reflex
This test measures changes in middle ear movement in response to loud sounds, which trigger an automatic reflex causing the middle ear muscles to contract. This response helps clinicians differentiate between conductive and sensorineural hearing issues, as well as identify potential eighth cranial nerve involvement. Acoustic reflex testing is well tolerated and most effective when interpreted as part of a comprehensive hearing assessment.
ASSR testing
This is an objective hearing assessment that measures how the brain responds to sound. Small electrodes are placed on the patient’s head to record brain activity while frequency-specific sounds are presented through earphones. These sounds are delivered rapidly to evoke steady neural responses at key speech-related frequencies, allowing clinicians to estimate hearing thresholds and generate an audiogram.
Ready to Take the First Step?
If you are concerned about your hearing, don’t delay. Schedule your specialist diagnostic assessment at London Hearing today.

