Types of Hearing Tests You Should Know About
Hearing loss is common among adults, and is often diagnosed among people over the age of 55. Losing your ability to hear can significantly impact the quality of your life and way of living. That’s why you must visit a hearing test clinic once you experience any symptoms of hearing loss so that a hearing specialist can diagnose the problem.
There is a wide range of safe and painless hearing tests that your hearing specialist can use to diagnose the severity and type of your hearing loss accurately. Read on to find out the different types of hearing tests that you need to know about.
Types of Hearing Tests
1. Pure Tone Testing
Pure tone testing, or standard audiometry, is used to measure hearing loss for both children and adults. Different test tones of low to high frequencies are transmitted to each ear through earphones, and you are asked to indicate whenever you hear each sound. This enables your hearing specialist to determine the softest sounds that you can hear at each frequency.
Also, the hearing test indicates the frequency regions where your hearing ability may be impaired. The louder the tone must be made so that you can detect and hear them, the higher the severity of your hearing loss at that particular frequency.
2. Bone Conduction
Bone conduction is used to determine whether your hearing loss is conductive, mixed or sensorineural. The bone conduction device bypasses the middle and outer ear by sending sounds thru the bone directly to your inner ear.
3. Speech Testing
Speech test helps to determine how well you can hear and comprehend spoken words. During the speech testing:
- You will be required to put on the headphones.
- The hearing specialist will communicate to you through the headphones a series of simple words at different volumes and ask you to repeat them.
- The hearing specialist will record the percentage of words repeated correctly and the softest speech that you can hear.
4. Tympanometry
The tympanometry test is used to assess the middle ear and its related structures’ status by measuring the movement of the eardrum when applied under different pressure. Restricted eardrum movement indicates a problem with your eardrum or other middle ear structures.
During the tympanometry test, your hearing test clinic’s hearing specialist places a small device in your ear canal, which pushes air into your ear, causing eardrum movement. The eardrum movement is then recorded on graphs known as tympanograms.
5. Acoustic Reflex Testing
Acoustic reflex testing assesses how well your middle ear responds to loud sounds, by measuring its muscle contractions.
During the test:
- The hearing specialist places a soft rubber tip in your ear.
- He or she sends a series of loud sounds through the rubber tips.
- The machine shows when the loud sound triggers a reflex.
Book Your Hearing Test with Bravo Hearing
Whenever you notice problems with your hearing ability, it is essential to contact a hearing test clinic to confirm whether you are suffering from hearing loss or not. The hearing tests outlined above are completely safe and painless and will guide you in seeking the best treatment option. Please contact us to schedule an appointment or call us at 647-694-4626 today.
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