How does a hearing test work?

Do you suspect a hearing loss? Or did your doctor ask you to get a hearing test done? Don’t worry- getting a hearing test doesn’t mean something is wrong. A hearing test enables doctors to make sure that your ears work well. Doctors recommend testing for hearing loss every ten years until age 50 and every three years after that.

What is a hearing test?

An audiologist performs a hearing test. This test provides a scale of the sensitivity of an individual’s hearing across the full range of speech. A hearing test measures the ability of a person to hear different sounds and frequencies. It is also used to evaluate whether hearing aids can improve a person’s hearing ability.

There are different types of hearing tests like:

• Pure-tone audiometry
• Speech audiometry
• Bone Conduction Testing
• Acoustic Reflex Testing
• Tympanometry and many more.

An audiologist will recommend the type of test to be taken depending on the individual’s age and other factors.

What is the PURPOSE of a hearing test?

At times you may not realize that you have hearing loss, as it’s a gradual process. Adults who don’t address the need to be tested feel left out of social events as they cannot hear well. Gradually, they stop seeing their friends or relatives because of the embarrassment. Therefore, it’s essential to have your ears checked when instructed by a doctor. 

The primary purpose of the test is to determine if a person has hearing loss. It is also used to measure the mildness or severity of hearing loss. 

A thorough hearing test determines the type of hearing loss you have, such as conductive, sensorineural, or mixed. It will also determine if you need medical treatment or hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing systems, or cochlear implants. 

PROCEDURE for getting a hearing test.

Hearing tests are non-invasive and painless tests. The entire process takes about 30 minutes. They conduct these tests in a sound-treated room or a booth designed to keep out any noises of the heater, air conditioner, or office environment. They ask the individual to wear earphones into one ear at a time. Then they are instructed to listen to the short tones that are played at different volumes and pitches. An audiometer is used to conduct the test, determining if the individual can hear each sound clearly or hear only high-pitched or low-pitched sounds and whether his left or right ear has hearing loss.

Hearing test RESULTS

You do not pass or fail this exam. However, the results determine whether you have a hearing loss in one or both ears and the percentage of hearing loss.

You can measure sound in two ways- decibels (dB) and hertz (Hz). It measures volume or level in decibels (dB), whereas it measures pitch or frequency in hertz (Hz).

You are most likely to hear these terms from your audiologist when they explain your test results to you. 

Here’s the breakdown 

Understanding your results

Your audiologist will hand you a graph called an audiogram demonstrating the intensity of sounds you can hear at different pitches or frequencies. The vertical axis denotes the volume of the sounds, whereas the horizontal axis depicts the frequency or pitch of the sound.

What is an Audiogram?

The audiogram outlines your hearing thresholds across various volumes and pitches in a silent room. You will hear a few soft tones that you can detect half of the time. However, it’s absolutely fine if you missed some. More importantly, an audiogram uses a numerical system to measure hearing ability; therefore, it is quantitative, not qualitative. It will not describe the quality of your hearing ability and may not detect if you have hidden hearing loss. 

How does an audiogram look?

The graph here represents a blank audiogram with the degrees of hearing loss. Frequency is the top part of the graph, ranging from 125 Hz on the left to 3000 Hz (sometimes till 8000 Hz) on the right. Sound hearing level is outlined on the left side of the graph ranging from -10 dB at the top to 120 dB at the bottom.

How to read an audiogram?

Reading an audiogram is a simple process. The Y-axis measures the intensity of the sound in decibels (Db) from -10 to 120. At the same time, the X-axis measures the sound frequency in hertz (Hz), ranging from 125 to 8,000.

Although the Y-axis measures the intensity of the sound -10 dB, that does not mean sound is absent. It represents the softest level of sound that an average person without any hearing loss will hear for any given frequency. 

Assume the X-axis as a piano where the sounds become higher pitched as you progress from left to right. The vowel sounds are the lowest frequencies, while consonant sounds like S, F, SH, CH, H, TH, T, and K are among the highest frequencies.

Online hearing tests

There are various hearing tests available online, for example, quiz-based screening tests, noise-based tests, etc. A quiz-based screening test will help you determine if you need in-person testing to determine your hearing loss. At the same time, a noise-based test allows you to listen to audio samples.

Online hearing tests provide people with an outline of their hearing status. However, they are not a replacement for a thorough diagnostic hearing evaluation. To find a trusted hearing test center, our (your brand name) is an excellent place to start.

To wrap up

Even though you may not realize that you have hearing loss, it is advisable to get your hearing tested once in a while. Although you may not be able to restore hearing loss, there are many ways to make up for it and guard the hearing you still have.

So take a test today and get your copy of the audiogram from your audiologist.