What Happens at Your Hearing Evaluation
A comprehensive evaluation with Dr. Ashley Crawford, Au.D. She starts by listening — then tests thoroughly and explains exactly what she finds. No referral needed. No pressure at any point.
What Happens at Your Evaluation
Your first visit is completely pressure-free and takes about 60 minutes. You'll leave with a clear audiogram and honest recommendations — no sales pitch, no obligation.
- Visual inspection of your ear canals
- Pure-tone audiometry across the full speech range
- Speech recognition testing
- Audiogram review with clear explanation
- Personalized recommendations based on your hearing profile
It Starts With a Conversation
Before any testing begins, Dr. Crawford sits down with you to understand what brought you in. Which situations are hardest — a restaurant, church, the phone, your grandchildren? What have you already tried? What matters most to you about hearing better? This is not a formality. Your answers shape which tests are run and how the results are interpreted, because two people with identical audiograms can have very different hearing experiences. Bringing a spouse or family member is genuinely helpful — they often notice things you have adapted to.
A Comprehensive Evaluation
Dr. Crawford then completes a full diagnostic evaluation using advanced equipment. It is comfortable and completely non-invasive. **Otoscopy** — a look inside your ear canals to check for earwax, fluid, or anything affecting the eardrum. **Pure-tone audiometry** — the softest sounds you can hear across the range of pitches that matter for speech, establishing the type and degree of any hearing loss. **Speech testing** — how clearly you understand words, not just whether you detect sound. This is often the measure that explains why you can hear people talking but cannot make out what they said. **Additional testing as needed** — based on your history and what the results show.
Results Explained in Plain Language
You will see your audiogram and Dr. Crawford will walk you through it — what the lines mean, which sounds you are missing, and how that connects to the specific situations you described at the start. If treatment would help, she will explain your options honestly, including what each one can and cannot do. If your hearing is normal, she will tell you that too. If something needs medical attention, she will refer you. You will never be pressured into a decision. Many patients take the information home to think it over, and that is a perfectly good outcome.
Where Your Evaluation Happens
You are welcome at the Hometown Hearing office in Knoxville. If travel is difficult, Dr. Crawford brings the same diagnostic equipment and the same unhurried appointment to your home, your assisted living community, or your senior center anywhere in East Tennessee. The evaluation is the same either way. Only the location changes.