What Types of Hearing Tests are Available

2014-07-30

According to the ASHA (American speech-language-hearing association), There are several types of hearing tests. Here’s a list of the hearing tests we offer.

• Pure-Tone Testing
• Speech Testing
• Tests of the Middle Ear
• Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
• Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs)

Pure-Tone Testing

This is the test most people think about when the think “hearing test”. The pure-tone air conduction test determines the faintest tones a person can hear at selected pitches, from low to high. You wear earphones for this test to gain information from each individual ear. During the test you may be asked to raise your hand, or press a button when you hear the tones.

Speech Testing or Live Speech Mapping

With special equipment a hearing professional can actually measure the live speech of your spouse or family member. A microphone is placed between the hearing aid’s speaker and your eardrums to measure exactly how much amplification at every frequency the hearing aid is producing. Speech testing may be done in a quiet or noisy environment. Difficulty understanding speech in background noise is a common complaint of people with hearing loss, and this information is helpful.
A live speech test allows your hearing professional to program your hearing aids with a proportionate amount of amplification to offset your specific hearing loss at each frequency.

Middle Ear Tests

The audiologist may also take measurements that will provide information about how the middle ear is functioning. These measurements include tympanometry, acoustic reflex measures, and static acoustic measures. This type of testing is particularly important in preschool children (ages 3–5), for whom hearing loss is more often associated with middle ear disease.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

Performed by an Audiologist, the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test gives information about the inner ear (cochlea) and brain pathways for hearing. The test can be used with children or others who have a difficult time with conventional behavioral methods of hearing screening. The ABR is also indicated for a person with signs, symptoms, or complaints suggesting a type of hearing loss in the brain or a brain pathway. This is a specialized test that is not usually required until simpler test have determined a further investigation into a person’s hearing loss.

Otoacoustic Emmissions (OAEs)

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are sounds given off by the inner ear when the cochlea is stimulated by a sound. When sound stimulates the cochlea, the outer hair cells vibrate producing a nearly inaudible vibration. The sound can be measured with a small probe inserted into the ear canal.

People with hearing loss greater than 25–30 decibels (dB) do not produce these very soft sounds. The OAE test is often part of a newborn hearing screening program. However this particular test can also detect blockage in the outer ear canal, as well as the presence of middle ear fluid and damage to the outer hair cells in the cochlea.