Self-diagnosing hearing loss is basically impossible. To illustrate, you can’t really assess your level of hearing by merely putting your ear near a speaker. Which means that if you want to know what’s happening with your hearing, you need to get it tested.
Now, before you start sweating or anxiously fidgeting, it’s important to mention that the majority of hearing tests are rather easy and require nothing more difficult than putting on a pair of fancy headphones.
But we get it, people don’t like tests. Whether you’re a high school student or middle-aged medical patient, tests are just generally no fun. You will be more comfortable and more ready if you take a little time to get to know these tests. A hearing test is about the simplest test you’ll ever have to take!
How is a hearing test performed?
Talking about making an appointment to have a hearing assessment is something that isn’t that uncommon. And the phrase “hearing test” is something we’ve probably talked about occasionally. Perhaps, you’ve heard that there are two kinds of hearing tests and you’re wondering what they’re all about.
Well, that’s somewhat misleading. Because you may undergo a number of different types of hearing tests, as it turns out. Each of these tests will provide you with a particular result and is designed to measure something different. The hearing tests you’re most likely to experience include the following:
- Pure-tone audiometry: Most individuals are most likely familiar with this hearing test. You wear some headphones and you listen for a sound. You simply raise your right hand if you hear a pitch in your right ear, and if you hear a pitch in your left ear you put up your left hand. With this, we can figure out which frequencies and volumes of sound you’re able to hear. It will also measure whether you have more significant hearing loss in one ear than the other.
- Speech audiometry: In some cases, hearing speech is a problem for you even though you can hear tones clearly. Speech is typically a more complex audio spectrum so it can be harder to hear clearly. During a speech audiometry test, you’ll be led into a quiet room and will, once again, be instructed to put on some headphones. Instead of making you listen to tones, this test will consist of audible speech at different volumes to detect the lowest level you’re able to hear a word and still comprehend it.
- Speech and Noise-in-Words Tests: Obviously, conversations in the real world occur in settings where other sounds are present. A speech and noise-in-words test will go through the same process as speech audiometry, but the test occurs in a noisy room instead of a quiet one. This can help you determine how well your hearing is working in real-world scenarios.
- Bone conduction testing: How well your inner ear is functioning will be established by this test. Two small sensors are placed, one on your forehead, and the other on your cochlea. Sound is then transmitted through a small device. This test measures how well those sound vibrations move through your inner ear. If this test determines that sound is moving through your ear effectively it could indicate that you have a blockage.
- Tympanometry: The general health of your eardrum sometimes requires testing. Tympanometry is a test that is used for this purpose. During this test, a little device will gently push air into your ear and measure exactly how much your eardrum moves. If you have fluid behind your eardrum, or a hole in your eardrum, this is the test that will identify that.
- Acoustic Reflex Measures: During this test, a tiny device supplies sound to your ear and observes the muscle feedback of your inner ear. The reflexive reaction of the muscle movement of your inner ear will help us discover how well it’s functioning.
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR): An ABR test tries to measure how well the brain and inner ear are reacting to sound. This is achieved by putting a couple of tactically placed electrodes on the outside of your skull. This test is completely painless so don’t worry. It’s one of the reasons why ABR testing is used on everyone from grandparents to newborns!
- Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Testing: This diagnostic is made to determine how well your cochlea and inner ear are working. This is achieved by tracking sound that echo’s back to your middle ear from your inner ear. This can identify whether your cochlea is working or, in some situations, if your ear is blocked.
What can we learn from hearing test results?
Chances are, you usually won’t undergo every single one of these hearing tests. Usually, your specific symptoms will determine which of these tests will be suitable.
When we do a hearing test, what are we looking for? A hearing test can sometimes expose the cause of your hearing loss. The hearing test you take can, in other instances, simply help us rule out other causes. Essentially, we will get to the bottom of any hearing loss symptoms you are experiencing.
Here are a few things that your hearing test can uncover:
- Whether you are dealing with hearing loss or experiencing the symptoms associated with hearing loss.
- Which treatment approach is best for your hearing loss: Once we’ve identified what’s causing your hearing loss, we’ll be able to more effectively provide treatment solutions.
- How much your hearing loss has progressed and how serious it is.
- Whether your hearing loss is in a particular frequency range.
What’s the difference between a hearing test and a hearing screening? It’s sort of like the difference between a quiz and a test. A screening is rather superficial. A test is made to supply usable data.
The sooner you take this test, the better
So as soon as you observe symptoms, you should schedule a hearing test. Don’t worry, this test isn’t going to be very stressful, and you won’t have to study. Nor are hearing tests intrusive or generally painful. We will give you all of the information about what to do and not to do before your hearing test.
It’s easy, just call and schedule an appointment.