Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría.

Because antes de que normally triggers the subjunctive in Spanish when it refers to something that has not happened yet.

• empieza = present indicative
• empiece = present subjunctive

In this sentence, the audiometry test is something that will happen later, after the waiting, so Spanish uses the subjunctive:

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría.

This is very common after time expressions like antes de que, hasta que, and cuando, when the action is still in the future from the speaker’s point of view.

Because the full conjunction is antes de que, which means before when it is followed by a conjugated verb.

Compare:

• antes de + infinitive
  Esperamos antes de entrar.
  = We wait before entering.

• antes de que + subjunctive
  Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría.
  = We wait before the audiometry begins.

So:

• use antes de if the next verb is an infinitive
• use antes de que if the next verb has its own subject and is conjugated

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría
  = We wait before the audiometry begins.

This focuses on the test itself beginning.

• Esperamos antes de empezar la audiometría
  = We wait before starting the audiometry.

This suggests that we are the ones who will start it.

So both are possible in the right context, but they are not exactly identical.

Because Spanish usually leaves subject pronouns out unless they are needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

• Esperamos already tells you the subject is we
• So nosotros is usually unnecessary

You could say:

• Nosotros esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría

But that sounds more emphatic, as if you are contrasting we with someone else.

It is the present indicative of esperar.

• yo espero
• tú esperas
• él/ella espera
• nosotros esperamos

In context, esperamos can mean:

• we wait
• we are waiting

Spanish often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous, depending on context.

In Spanish, nouns often appear with the definite article more often than in English.

Here, la audiometría refers to a specific procedure or test, so the article sounds natural.

Spanish commonly uses articles with things like:

• medical procedures
• abstract nouns
• general categories

So la audiometría is perfectly normal, even if English might sometimes just say audiometry or the hearing test, depending on context.

Audiometría is a medical term meaning audiometry, a test used to measure hearing. In everyday English, depending on context, a learner might understand it as:

• the hearing test
• the audiometry test
• audiometry

So this sentence is likely from a medical or clinic context.

Because empezar is a stem-changing verb.

In the subjunctive, it follows the same stem change seen in many present-tense forms:

• empezar → empieza in the present indicative
• empezar → empiece in the present subjunctive

The pattern is e → ie in stressed forms.

Present subjunctive of empezar:

• yo empiece
• tú empieces
• él/ella/usted empiece
• nosotros/nosotras empecemos
• vosotros/vosotras empecéis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes empiecen

Notice that nosotros and vosotros do not have the ie stem change.

In Spanish, time clauses can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on whether the action is seen as completed/real or still pending/future.

Use the subjunctive when the action has not happened yet:

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría.

Use the indicative when talking about something habitual or already completed in a past narrative:

• Siempre esperamos antes de que empieza la sesión would not be standard; with antes de que, Spanish strongly prefers the subjunctive even in habitual contexts.
• More naturally in the past: Esperamos antes de que empezara la audiometría.

So with antes de que, the subjunctive is basically the normal choice.

Yes. Comenzar and empezar are very close in meaning.

So you could say:

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría.
• Esperamos antes de que comience la audiometría.

Both mean essentially the same thing: We wait before the audiometry begins.

In many contexts, empezar feels a bit more common and everyday, while comenzar can sound slightly more formal, but both are completely normal.

It is pronounced approximately:

• au-dyo-me-TRI-a

The stress falls on -trí- because of the written accent: audiometría.

A rough English-friendly guide could be:

• ow-dyoh-meh-TREE-ah

The accent mark is important because without it, the stress would fall differently.

It can do either, depending on context.

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la audiometría can mean:
  • We are waiting before the audiometry begins
  • We wait before the audiometry begins

Spanish present tense often covers both a current situation and a habitual one. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes, it is natural and correct in Spain Spanish.

A speaker in Spain might also say slightly more everyday versions depending on the setting, for example:

• Esperamos antes de que empiece la prueba de audición.
• Esperamos antes de que comience la audiometría.

But the original sentence is absolutely normal, especially in a medical context.