What Are The Different Types of Hearing Tests?

Mild to severe hearing loss is now detected over the online programs designed to give excellent results. Below mentioned are a few types of hearing tests that can help you in knowing the intensity of the hearing loss:

Pure Tone Testing

Sort of a traditional hearing loss tester, this method uses air conduction to see your ability to hear different pitches and volumes. You’re provided with headphones as you sit in a specially designed room. Then you’re required to press buttons or raise your hand as you hear a sound. Simple as that. The results are then put as an audiogram. Mild to severe hearing loss can be detected through this method.

Tympanometry

This method of testing hearing loss is used for middle ear eardrum testing on a major. It just involves energy transmission through the middle ear eardrum. A variation of air pressure is created in the ear canal to check the conduction bones. It’s efficient in detecting tumors or fluid/wax buildup.

Otoacoustic Emissions(OAEs)

Commonly used for newborn babies, this test is done with a tiny probe with a microphone and speaker to stimulate the cochlea and measure the response. The sounds generated by hair cells in the cochlea in the inner ear are put to measure. This test can help detect the problem in the ear canal, middle ear, or inner ear and covers the range of mild to severe hearing loss.

Bone Conduction

Unlike the air usage in the traditional method, the bone conduction method directly transmits the vibrations from behind the ear to the inner ear through a conductor. This method can help an audiologist know the type of hearing loss if the test results are different from the pure toning method.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

In this method, small earphones are placed in the ears, and soft electrodes are placed above the ears on the forehead. The measured result is a vertex positive wave series of 6-7 counts. The functioning of the auditory neural pathway is done through this. Since this testing doesn’t require a voluntary response, kids’ mild to severe hearing loss can also be detected accurately.

Speech Testing

In the first step, this test measures the patient’s ability to distinguish between the speech and the background noise by measuring the speech reception threshold (SRT). The tests are either done in a quiet environment or a noisy one. This method can also be used to cross-check with the Air conduction method. Like the Pure Toning method uses different tones for the check, this method uses words spoken at various volumes, and the patient is asked to repeat them.

Acoustic Reflex Testing

About the location, this test helps detect mild to severe hearing loss in the ossicles, auditory nerve, and cochlea. Acoustic Reflex Testing can see the site of the problem in the ear. It mainly targets the middle ear and records involuntary muscle contractions. The test lasts for 100 seconds and works for not more than 1000 Hz as a higher frequency can cause damage in even normal ears. It is done with lower frequencies for children.

Your doctor conducts different tests or a combination of might to get to the root of your hearing loss. It’s advisable to get help instead of shying away, even if you’re young. Better to be able to hear than to be isolated among a room full of people. Make sure you get the best help as there are so many options of hearing aids available now on the countertop.