Are There Different Hearing Tests?

If you’re like 15 percent of the American population, chances are you suffer from some degree of hearing loss. More than 48 million Americans have diagnosable hearing loss. To diagnose hearing loss, an individual needs to see a hearing healthcare professional, such as an audiologist or an otolaryngologist. These doctors will likely perform a battery of tests to determine the degree and type of hearing loss you have. 

There are five different tests that enable a hearing healthcare professional to figure out a patient’s hearing loss. These tests include a pure-tone test, speech test, middle ear test, auditory brainstem response and otoacoustic emissions.

Pure-tone tests

A pure-tone test determines the range of pitches an individual can hear. It will pinpoint the faintest tones a person can hear at multiple pitches, or frequency. The test is not painful and shouldn’t cause anxiety for the patient. During the test, an individual will wear headphones. A sound will be played in the headphones; if the patient hears the sound, he or she raises her hand, presses a button or says yes.

Each ear will be tested individually in order to get the most accurate results.

Speech tests and hearing loss

Speech tests involve listening to conversation in quiet and noisy environments. To determine an individual’s speech reception threshold, a hearing professional will record word recognition or the ability to repeat words back.

Middle ear tests

To determine how the middle ear is functioning, a hearing care provider may gather measurements such as tympanometry, acoustic reflex measures and static acoustic measures. This test pushes air pressure into the canal, causing the eardrum to undulate back and forth. Acoustic reflex measures provide information regarding the location of the hearing issue. Acoustic reflex is the contraction of the middle ear when introduced to a loud sound. Testing for acoustic measure enables a hearing practitioner to identify a perforated eardrum and check the opening of the ear’s ventilation tubes.

Auditory brainstem response test

The auditory brainstem response test provides data about the inner ear and brain pathways needed for hearing. During the test, electrodes are placed on the head to record brain wave activity.

Otoacoustic emissions

Last but not least, otoacoustic emissions, or sounds given off by the inner ear when the cochlea is stimulated by sound, are measured to narrow down types of hearing loss. These emissions can be measured by inserting a small probe into the ear canal. The probe measures the sounds produced by the vibration of the outer hair cells, which occurs when the cochlea is stimulated.

Talk with your hearing care provider to figure out what hearing test will be most beneficial to help treat your hearing loss.