There Can Be Several Tests Performed To Determine The Extent Of Hearing Loss

There are several tests that can be performed to determine to existence and extent of hearing loss.  The first step to performing a thorough hearing test is for the hearing professional to determine the patient’s medical history.  In some cases of hearing loss, other medical conditions can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss.  Other questions asked usually relate to noise exposure and any possible physical damage to the ear itself.  There are also several medications that can temporarily or permanently affect hearing.

The hearing professional will examine the ear itself.  Both the external and internal construction of the ear can affect hearing loss levels.  The equipment used to physically examine the ear is called an otoscope, video otoscopes actually allow you to see your own ear canal and ear drum usually on a monitor. The otoscope also allows the practitioner to see if there are any obstructions in the ear canal or damage to the ear drum itself.

After the physical portion of the hearing exam, the patient is put into a sound room that allows no external sound to enter and possibly interfere with the testing.  This portion of the hearing test requires the patient to wear a set of headphones or ear inserts that will deliver a series of different tones to the ears, one at a time.  The patient will either push a button or raise the hand that corresponds to the ear experiencing the tone.  To confirm the type of hearing loss a patient has what is called a bone conduction test is done using external stimulus to the bone just behind the outer ear.

If a hearing loss is detected speech testing will usually follow the tone testing.  Speech testing will help determine the Most Comfortable and Uncomfortable levels a patient can hear speech at.  In addition to these levels a speech discrimination test will be presented at the Most comfortable level. This is a series of phonetically balanced words that are presented to the patient and the patient responds back repeating the words presented. This test is presented without using any sight clues such as reading lips.  These results are used to determine the degree of word understanding the patient has.  

If there is hearing loss present, the next step should be to determine treatment options, including the use of hearing aids.  Anyone suspecting they are experiencing any level of hearing loss should make an appointment for a full examination, to determine their exact hearing health.

Technorati Tags: correct hearing loss, digital hearing aids, hearing aid test results, Hearing Aids, hearing check, hearing impairment, hearing loss