Understanding the Different Types of Hearing Assessments

If your audiologist has asked you to attend a hearing assessment, it’s only natural that you might want to know what, exactly, it will entail. Typically, this means the standard hearing test but if there are any symptoms of particular issues affecting your hearing, there are more specific tests that can help and audiologists get more specific in diagnosing your hearing and ear health. So, what are the different types of hearing assessments you might benefit from?

Pure-Tone Tests

Pure-tone hearing test are the most common form. They involved being put in a soundproof room or booth, with a headphone that plays back tones to you of various pitches and volumes. You will be asked to give an indication of when you hear the tone, which is recorded to complete an audiogram.

Speech Tests

Much like pure-tone tests, the purpose of this test is to see if you are able to hear and respond to different levels of sound. However, in this case, it is speech, with varying levels of faintness, voice pitch and in quiet and noisy environments, to better understand if you have any difficulty hearing and understanding speech.

Bone Conduction Tests

The inner ear is supposed to respond in a certain way to sound, and this is designed to test this function of the ear is working appropriately. A device is fitted behind the ear, sending vibrations through the bone to the inner ear to ensure that it is working as it should be.

Acoustic Reflex Tests

There are also small muscles within the middle ear that automatically contract when they pick up sound. Using a tiny probe, an audiologist can test whether or not these muscles contract in response to the right stimuli, as they should be, which can better help them understand the location that hearing loss is affecting, be it the cochlea, auditory nerves or otherwise.

Tympanometry Tests

The eardrum is supposed to move automatically in response to air pressure. By testing that the eardrum is able to respond to air pressure, your audiologist can also determine it is able to move properly when transmitting sound to the inner ear. With a tympanometry test, your audiologist can ensure that there isn’t anything, like earwax, fluid buildups or injuries to the eardrum that prevent it from responding properly to differences in air pressure.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)

Although most commonly used for newborns, this form of testing is designed to pick up sensorineural hearing loss, which is when the brain may not be interpreting sound signals from the ear as it should be and involves using electrodes to measure the response of brainwaves to auditory stimuli.

The different hearing assessments are there to help your audiologist diagnose your hearing health as accurately as possible and ensure you get the correct device. If you have any questions about the tests, don’t hesitate to ask about them. Your audiologist will want to ensure you’re as comfortable and confident when going through them as possible.