An audiometry exam assesses your hearing abilities. The loudness (intensity) of sounds and the speed of sound wave vibrations vary (tone). Sound waves activate the nerves of the inner ear, causing hearing to occur. They are also capable of passing through the bones around and behind the ear (bone conduction). The auditory nerve transmits this information to the brain, which recognizes patterns for possible future reference. The audiologist uses various tests, including pure-tone audiometry, speech recognition testing, and auditory-evoked response testing, to determine how well you hear different frequencies of sound and how well you understand spoken words. You may be asked to complete a hearing history questionnaire about your lifestyle factors that may affect your hearing such as exposure to noise, use of medications, previous diagnosis of hearing loss or other medical conditions, etc. Next, the audiologist will measure your hearing ability in each ear using a standard audiometer. You will be seated in a quiet room while wearing headphones designed for use with audiometers. The audiologist will play various tones, clicks, and noises at different levels until you hear something above a certain level. This is called the threshold of hearing. There are several methods used to determine thresholds, but the most common method is to ask you to press a button when you first hear something above background noise.