Complete Diagnostic Hearing TestThe Hearing Test That Helps You Hear—and Live—Your Best
Clarity. Confidence. Connection.™
Don’t guess. Know.
Quick, comfortable and comprehensive, a HearBest diagnostic hearing test gives our audiologists & hearing care specialists the information they need to create your personal plan for better hearing, and to help protect your cognitive health.
Need to be seen today? Ask about same-day hearing test availability.
Real-world tested devices. Doctor-led care. Better hearing starts here.
Your local audiologist practice
HearBest is your local audiologist practice with 14 offices across Indiana. With the combination of our proficient audiologists and the latest technology, we provide our patients with the resources to improve their hearing.
The first step is to schedule a hearing test in Indiana at one of our offices. This evaluation will provide our audiologists with the proper information to create a personal plan of success.
Schedule Your Hearing TestFind your nearest office
14 officesWhat a modern hearing evaluation involves
A recent visit to HearBest offered a clear look at what a modern hearing evaluation involves and why it matters. For many people—including musicians and others who rely on precise sound—regular hearing checks can be as important as annual eye exams or physicals. The process is straightforward, conducted by a specialist who assesses how well different parts of the hearing system are working together.
Hearing health is brain health
Experts emphasize that hearing isn’t just an ear issue; the brain plays a central role in processing sound. Research has associated untreated hearing loss with a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia, with even mild loss potentially increasing risk. Early identification and intervention can support communication, quality of life, and long-term cognitive outcomes.
40Establishing a baseline test around age 40 helps track changes over time and identify when treatment might help.
Simple and painless
The evaluation typically starts with a visual check of the ear canal, followed by placing soft insert earphones. You’ll hear a series of words to repeat and faint tones (the “beeps”), pressing a button whenever you detect them—even if the sound is barely audible. These steps measure thresholds and speech understanding, painting a detailed picture of what you can and can’t hear. Many appointments are efficient, often taking only a short part of a day.
Experience from the other side of the chair
Some audiologists bring a unique perspective by managing their own hearing needs and using hearing devices daily. This firsthand experience can inform device selection and fine-tuning, especially in challenging environments like busy restaurants. Ongoing evaluation of technology—beyond what manufacturers promise—helps match real-world performance to patient goals, refining care to meet a wide range of listening demands.
Peace of mind, or a clear next step
For many people, the result of a test may simply confirm normal hearing and provide peace of mind; for others, it can be the first step toward targeted treatment. Either way, incorporating hearing checks into a routine health plan—especially from midlife onward—can help catch changes early and guide next steps.
Considering an evaluation? Schedule online or call the HearBest office nearest you to get started.
Schedule Your Hearing TestUnderstanding your audiogram
What it is, how to read it, and what it means to you.
A graph of your hearing ability
To put it simply, the audiogram is a graph of your hearing ability that is created during a hearing test. The audiogram tells your audiologist what types of sounds you can hear well, and what types of sounds you can’t hear due to hearing loss. Most people can hear sounds at some pitches, but not others! Here is the most common type of hearing loss.
This person has a very significant hearing loss. When they arrived at our office, the first thing they said was:
People are always telling me I need to get hearing aids, but I think they all mumble. I can hear just fine! Just the other day I heard the dog barking from half a mile away!
How can this be? How can this person, with this severe hearing loss, think that they have totally normal hearing? We look to the audiogram for our answer.
The quietest sound you can hear, pitch by pitch
The audiogram shows us the very quietest level of sound that a person can hear across a variety of pitches, from very low “bass” sounds to very high-pitched “ringing” sounds. Each ear has its own symbol.
Up & down: loudnessThe numbers on the left represent loudness in decibels (dB). The bigger the number, the louder the sound. X’s and O’s near the top mean normal hearing; near the bottom means severe hearing loss.
Left to right: pitchThe numbers across the top represent pitch. Deep, bass-like pitches are on the left; high-pitched ringing sounds are on the right.
Back to our questionHow can a person with severe hearing loss have no idea that their hearing is bad?
Dogs barking: yes. Birds chirping: barely.
This person has really good hearing at 250 and 500 Hz, which is a very low-pitched sound. That’s why they could hear their big dog barking… because their big dog has a deep “voice.” But if there was a bird with a high-pitched “chirp” making noise right next to their ear, they may barely hear it! This is because they have severe hearing loss in the higher pitches.
Okay, so the patient can hear dogs barking, but not birds chirping. So what, right? Well, it turns out high-pitched hearing loss has major consequences in understanding speech.
Speech is made of low and high sounds
We humans are unique. We have developed language to communicate with each other. Our words contain sounds of all sorts of pitches, from very low to very high and everything in between!
Low-pitched sounds this patient hears
- “ah”like in the word “wash”
- “oh”like in the word “boat”
- “oo”like in the word “loot”
They can hear the “vowels” of speech very well.
High-pitched sounds they can’t hear well
- “sh” · “t”like in “sheet” or “shirt”
- “f” · “ch”like in the word “fetch”
These are the sounds that tell one word from another.
In many cases, these high-pitched sounds of speech make all the difference in the world, distinguishing one word from another. People with this type of hearing loss have to work harder to communicate with others, because they often have to make their best guess as to what word was said, all while trying to follow the conversation. Throw in multiple people speaking all at once, and they may not hear much of anything at all!
Hearing aids programmed to your audiogram
Hearing aids from HearBest are custom programmed to each patient’s specific and unique audiogram. For this patient, making all sounds louder would simply not work. This patient had unique needs, so we programmed a set of hearing aids that boosted:
- High pitches · by a lot
- Middle pitches · by a little
- Low pitches · left alone
The result: crisp, natural sound quality, increased speech understanding in all situations, and increased quality of life. Once this patient tried our hearing aids for the first time, they never looked back.
We’ll walk you through your results
Our audiologists will discuss your hearing test results with you. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please give us a call today. To speak to a hearing specialist in Whitestown/Zionsville, Carmel, or Fishers, call (317) 942-3231. To talk to an audiologist at the Lafayette – East, Lafayette – South, or West Lafayette office, call (219) 529-1491. We are always available to review your hearing test results with you.
Schedule Your Hearing Test