Updated October 2026 with current dealer and clinic quotes. Prices move with the rupee; confirm before buying.
Hearing test price in Pakistan runs Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 for a proper PTA — pure tone audiometry — at an audiology clinic, ENT hospital or private hearing centre, with the figure depending on the city and whether tympanometry is added. This air and bone conduction test takes 20 to 30 minutes, is completely painless, and produces the audiogram that decides whether you need a hearing aid at all. Anything cheaper than that, especially the "free test" pitches at shops, is a sales tool, not a diagnosis. This guide covers what the test includes, what each price point buys, and how to read your own audiogram.
What a PTA test actually includes
Pure tone audiometry is the standard hearing test everywhere from Shifa in Islamabad to small audiology rooms in Rawalpindi's commercial markets. You sit in a sound-treated booth, wear headphones, and press a button or raise a hand every time you hear a tone. The tester plays tones at different pitches (from low 250 Hz rumble to high 8,000 Hz) and different loudness, mapping the quietest sound you can detect at each pitch for each ear separately.
A complete PTA has two parts:
- Air conduction — tones through headphones, testing the whole ear path from canal to brain.
- Bone conduction — a small vibrating pad behind the ear, testing the inner ear directly, bypassing the outer and middle ear.
The gap between the two (the air-bone gap) is what tells the audiologist whether your loss is conductive (a mechanical problem, often fixable medically), sensorineural (permanent nerve damage, the hearing aid case), or mixed. A test priced at Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 that skips bone conduction is incomplete — ask before you pay.
Hearing test price table: what each type costs
| Test type | Typical price (PKR) | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Basic screening (beep test, no booth) | Rs 200 – 500 | Rough pass/fail only. Not a diagnosis. |
| Full PTA, air conduction only | Rs 500 – 1,000 | Degree of loss per ear, but not the type. |
| Full PTA, air + bone conduction | Rs 1,000 – 2,000 | Degree and type of loss. The one you want. |
| PTA + tympanometry (middle-ear pressure) | Rs 1,500 – 2,500 | Adds fluid, perforation, Eustachian tube evidence. |
| Free "test" at a hearing aid shop | Rs 0 | A demo calibrated to sell you an aid. Useful only with a real report to compare. |
City matters less than you'd expect. Lahore has the densest audiology market so competitive pressure keeps mid-range clinics near the lower end, Karachi hospitals sit mid-table, and Islamabad private centres charge toward the top. A hospital ENT outpatient department usually bills at the low end; a standalone audiology centre with modern equipment at the high end. The Rs 1,000–2,000 air+bone test at a reputable centre is the best value in Pakistani hearing care by a wide margin — see our what to expect guide for the appointment itself.
Reading your audiogram: the dB HL scale
The audiogram plots your thresholds — the quietest sound you hear at each pitch — against a scale from 0 dB (normal) down to 120 dB (barely anything). The lower the number, the better your hearing. Audiologists classify loss like this:
| Degree of loss | Threshold (dB HL) | Real-world effect |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 0 – 25 | No trouble in quiet or noise. |
| Mild | 26 – 40 | Misses soft speech; struggles in restaurants. |
| Moderate | 41 – 55 | Needs raised voice TV; misses phone conversation. |
| Moderately-severe | 56 – 70 | Misses normal speech entirely without amplification. |
| Severe | 71 – 90 | Hears loud shouts only; near-total dependence on aids. |
| Profound | 91+ | Only very loud vibration; aids may help with awareness, not speech. |
Three practical readings matter more than the labels. First, symmetry: if both ears drop at similar thresholds, that's the typical bilateral pattern most adults bring to the clinic, and it usually calls for aids on both sides. Second, the slope: a flat loss amplifies everything evenly; a high-frequency drop (common in age-related loss) means you hear vowels fine but miss consonants — "fish" vs "fifth". Third, the air-bone gap: a large gap with otherwise good bone thresholds is the one pattern that may need an ENT referral rather than a hearing aid first.
When does a result mean a hearing aid?
The general clinical line followed across Pakistani clinics: if your average threshold in the speech-critical frequencies is 40 dB HL or worse, hearing aids will genuinely change your life, and the aid budget conversation in Pakistan runs from the market floor of Rs 15,000 to Rs 550,000+ per ear depending on brand and technology — with A&M Pakistani-made units from Rs 8,000–35,000 as the genuine-budget floor. Between 26 and 40 dB (mild) it's a judgement call driven by your actual listening life: if you work in meetings, teach, or struggle in noisy family gatherings, mild loss is already worth aiding; if you're retired and mostly in one-on-one quiet, you can monitor it.
| Your audiogram | Usual recommendation | Typical starting budget per ear |
|---|---|---|
| Mild (26–40) | Optional; aid if daily life demands it | 15,000 – 90,000 |
| Moderate (41–55) | Aids strongly advised | 25,000 – 180,000 |
| Moderately-severe (56–70) | Aids, with power headroom | 45,000 – 350,000 |
| Severe to profound (71+) | Power BTE aids; implant assessment if aids underperform | 90,000 – 500,000+ |
One rule we repeat on every page of this site: below roughly Rs 20,000, much of the Pakistani market sells amplifiers, not programmable hearing aids. An amplifier makes everything louder including the noise — a proper digital aid, even at the Rs 25,000–180,000 Rexton or Unitron level, separates speech from background. If a test result pushes you toward a purchase, put the money where the programming is.
The free-test warning
Free hearing tests at shops that only sell hearing aids are a known trap in Karachi's Saddar, Lahore's Hall Road and after-sales corridors everywhere. The problems:
- They screen, they don't diagnose. A shop "test" often finds loss exactly at the level of the aid they want to sell.
- No booth, no calibration. Ambient shop noise alone shifts thresholds by 10–15 dB.
- No bone conduction, so nobody can tell you if your loss is actually medically treatable.
None of this means free demo sessions are useless — trying an aid in a shop is a legitimate way to feel the technology. But never let a free test be the only evidence behind a Rs 60,000 per ear Phonak decision. Pay Rs 1,000–2,000 for a proper PTA first, get the printed audiogram, and take delivery of your own report. Then if you want, read our complete guide to hearing aids in Pakistan for what to do next, and our Islamabad price guide if that's your city.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the PTA hearing test painful?
Not at all. You wear headphones and press a button when you hear tones — it's the medical equivalent of a very careful volume check. Even babies and very elderly patients tolerate it easily; only the bone-conduction pad behind the ear touches skin, with light pressure.
How long does a PTA test take?
20 to 30 minutes for a full air and bone conduction test on both ears, plus 5 to 10 minutes for the audiologist to explain the report. Add tympanometry and you're still under 45 minutes in the clinic.
Are free hearing tests trustworthy in Pakistan?
As a diagnosis, no. Without a sound booth, calibrated equipment and bone conduction, a shop test cannot measure your true thresholds, and it has a built-in incentive to find loss at the level of the aid being sold. Use free demos to try aids, but get a paid Rs 1,000–2,000 PTA before any purchase.
Can children take a PTA test?
Yes, from roughly age 4–5 upward, a standard PTA works as play-conditioned testing. Younger children need behavioural observation or objective tests like ABR which cost more. If your child fails a school screening, take the report to an audiologist for a full air+bone PTA before spending on aids — see our guide to hearing aids for children in Pakistan and our hearing test walkthrough.
Does a hearing test include fitting advice?
Not automatically. A Rs 1,000–2,000 PTA gives you the audiogram and a diagnosis; the aid selection, ear impression, fitting and programming come with the aid purchase at a dealer. Ask the clinic when booking whether they bundle fitting into the test, and compare against our 2026 price catalogue before buying.
Ready to book a test or price out aids? WhatsApp us for clinic quotes, or browse the full range on Samaat.pk.
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