Hearing loss is challenging, if not impossible, to self-diagnose. For instance, you can’t really put your ear up to a speaker and effectively calculate what you hear. So getting your hearing tested will be vital in figuring out what’s happening with your hearing.
Now, before you begin sweating or anxiously fidgeting, it’s important to point out that the majority of hearing tests are quite easy and involve nothing more difficult than putting on a pair of fancy headphones.
But we get it, people don’t like tests. Whether you’re a student or middle-aged medical patient, tests are really just no fun. You will be more relaxed and more ready if you take a little time to get to know these tests. There’s virtually no test easier to take than a hearing test!
What is a hearing test like?
Talking about making an appointment to have a hearing assessment is something that is not that uncommon. And we’ve probably used the phrase “hearing test” once or twice. You might even be thinking, well, what are the two types of hearing tests?
Well, that’s not exactly accurate. Because you may undergo a number of different types of hearing tests, as it turns out. Each of these tests will give you a particular result and is designed to measure something different. The hearing tests you’re most likely to encounter include the following:
- Pure-tone audiometry: Most individuals are most likely familiar with this hearing test. You put on some headphones and you listen for a tone. You just raise your right hand if you hear a tone in your right ear, and if you hear a pitch in your left ear you put up your left hand. This will test how well you hear a variety of frequencies at a variety of volumes. 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 challenge for you even though you can hear tones just fine. Speech is generally a more complex audio spectrum so it can be more difficult to hear clearly. During a speech audiometry test, you’ll be led into a quiet room and will, once again, be directed to don some headphones. Instead of making you listen to tones, this test will consist of audible speech at various volumes to identify the lowest level you’re able to hear a word and still understand it.
- Speech and Noise-in-Words Tests: Obviously, conversations in the real world occur in settings where there are other sounds. A speech and noise-in-words test will go through the same procedure as speech audiometry, but the test occurs in a noisy room rather than a quiet one. This mimics real-world situations to help figure out how your hearing is working in those settings.
- Bone conduction testing: This diagnostic is made to measure the performance of your inner ear. Two small sensors are placed, one on your forehead, and one on your cochlea. Sound is then transmitted through a small device. How effectively sound vibrations travel through the ear is tracked by this test. This test can usually identify whether there is an obstruction in your ear (ex: if you can’t hear, but your inner ear is working perfectly there may be some sort of obstruction blocking the sounds).
- Tympanometry: On occasion, we’ll want to check the general health of your eardrum. This is accomplished using a test called tympanometry. Air will be gently blown into your ear so that we can measure how much movement your eardrum has. The results of this test can reveal whether there’s a hole in your eardrum, fluid behind your eardrum membrane, and more.
- Acoustic Reflex Measures: During this test, a tiny device delivers sound to your ear and observes the muscle response of your inner ear. It all happens by reflex, which means that the movements of your muscles can tell us a lot about how well your middle ear is working.
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR): The ability of your inner ear and brain to respond to sound is measured by an ABR test. This is achieved by placing a couple of strategically placed electrodes on the outside of your skull. This test is totally painless so don’t worry. That’s why everyone from newborns to grandparents get this test.
- Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Testing: This kind of testing will help determine if your inner ear and cochlea are working properly. It does this by measuring the sound waves that echo back from your inner ear into your middle ear. If your cochlea isn’t working efficiently or there’s a blockage, this test will reveal it.
What can we discover from hearing test results?
You most likely won’t need to get all of these hearing tests. We will choose one or two tests that best suit your symptoms and then go from there.
When we test your hearing, what are we looking for? Well, in some cases the tests you take will uncover the underlying cause of your hearing loss. In other cases, the test you take may just rule out other possible causes. Ultimately, we will get to the bottom of any hearing loss symptoms you are experiencing.
In general, your hearing test will reveal:
- How profound your hearing loss is (or, if you’ve had multiple tests over the years, how your hearing loss might have advanced).
- Which treatment strategy is best for your hearing loss: We will be more successfully able to address your hearing loss once we’ve established the cause.
- Which frequency of sound you have the most difficult time hearing (some people have a hard time hearing high wavelengths; others have a hard time hearing low pitches).
- Whether you’re experiencing symptoms associated with hearing loss or hearing loss itself.
Is there any difference between a hearing screening and a hearing test? The difference between a quiz and a test is a good example. A screening is really superficial. A test is made to supply usable data.
It’s best to get tested as soon as possible
So as soon as you observe symptoms, you should schedule a hearing test. Don’t worry, this test won’t be super stressful, and you don’t have to study. And the tests aren’t unpleasant or intrusive. We will provide you with all of the information about what to do and not to do before your hearing test.
Which means hearing tests are fairly easy, all you need to do is schedule them.
