The appointment for a comprehensive hearing evaluation begins with a complete hearing health history. The audiologist will then examine your ear canals to ensure they are clear of debris. Using either traditional headphones or insert earphones, the audiologist will perform testing to determine your level or threshold of hearing over a wide frequency range. A bone vibrator will then be placed behind your ear to help determine if any loss of hearing is due to a problem with the outer or middle ear space or the inner ear. Speech testing is performed by having you repeat several soft words, followed by a list of words presented at a comfortable listening level. Further testing may be performed depending on the outcome of these results. Following the evaluation, the audiologist will sit down and discuss your test results with you in detail and will provide any appropriate recommendations. A detailed report is generated for your record and sent to your referring physician.