What to Expect from a Hearing Test in Allentown

A lot of people put off getting their hearing checked — not because they don't care, but because they're not sure what it involves. Is it uncomfortable? How long does it take? What happens if something's wrong? Those are fair questions, and the answers are simpler than you might expect.

If conversations have started to feel harder to follow, or you're turning the TV up more than you used to, a hearing evaluation is a natural next step. Here's an honest look at what happens when you come in to see us at Kleckner Audiology in Allentown.

The Appointment Starts with a Conversation

Before any testing begins, we sit down and talk. We want to know about your daily life — your job, the situations where you struggle to hear, any changes you've noticed. This part matters more than most patients expect.

We encourage you to bring a spouse, family member, or close friend to this first visit. The people around you often pick up on hearing changes before you do. Their observations help us understand the full picture, and they often remember details you might not think to mention.

A Quick Look in Your Ears

Next, we do a visual exam using a small handheld scope to look inside your ear canal. We're checking for anything that could be affecting your hearing — earwax buildup, fluid, or a blockage. We also offer video otoscopy, which puts a live image of your ear canal on a screen so you can see it too. It's quick, painless, and patients are often surprised by how interesting it is.

If earwax turns out to be the main culprit, that's actually good news. It's an easy fix.

Testing Your Hearing in a Soundproof Booth

Most of the actual evaluation takes place in a soundproof booth. You'll put on headphones, and we'll play a series of tones at different pitches and volumes. Your only job is to respond when you hear something — press a button or raise your hand. That's it. There's no guessing, no tricks.

We also run a bone conduction test, which uses a small device placed behind your ear. Instead of sending sound through your ear canal, it sends vibrations directly to your inner ear. Comparing those two sets of results tells us where a hearing problem is coming from — whether it's the outer ear, the middle ear, or deeper inside.

One more quick test, called tympanometry, checks how your eardrum responds to gentle changes in air pressure. It helps us assess your middle ear health and only takes about 30 seconds.

Understanding How You Hear Speech

Hearing tones in a quiet booth is one thing. Following a conversation in a noisy restaurant is another. That gap is exactly why we include speech testing in every evaluation.

We'll ask you to repeat words played at different volumes — first to find the softest level of speech you can understand, then to measure how clearly you make out words at a comfortable volume. We also run a speech-in-noise test, which mimics what it's like trying to follow a conversation when there's background noise around you.

For many patients, that's where the real difficulty shows up. Quiet environments feel fine. It's the family dinner or the busy coffee shop that wears them out. Knowing how you perform in noise directly shapes what treatment options make sense and how hearing aids would be programmed for your specific needs.

Walking Through Your Results Together

When testing wraps up, we sit back down with you and go over everything. We'll show you your audiogram — a simple graph that maps out how well you hear at different sound frequencies — and explain what it means in plain terms. No jargon, no rushing.

If hearing aids are a good fit for you, we'll talk through what that could look like. If something else warrants a closer look, we'll address that too. There's no pressure to make any decisions that day. Our goal is to make sure you leave with a clear understanding of your hearing, not a sales pitch.

Ready to Get Some Answers?

Kleckner Audiology has been serving the Allentown area since 1974. Dr. Peter Kleckner, Dr. Katherine Stabler, and Hearing Instrument Specialist Andrew Fluck bring a thorough, patient-first approach to every appointment. The whole evaluation takes about an hour.

Call us at 610-435-8299 or schedule online. You'll leave knowing a lot more about your hearing than when you walked in — and that's always worth the hour.