Pure-Tone Hearing Test

This test determines the ability to hear sound. The pure-tone test determines the faintest sound that an ear can perceive. Tones of low through high frequencies will be presented at various levels of loudness. Some of these tones will be heard through the ear canal, and others through the bone area behind the ear. The test is performed in a sound proofed room. In many cases, it is necessary to introduce a loud noise into the ear that is not being tested. This distraction, called masking, is necessary to assure that the test tones are heard only in the ear under evaluation.

Speech Intelligibility Test

These tests determine the ability to hear and understand speech. Different samples of speech are presented through earphones or through a loud speaker in a sound proofed room. One series of words is heard at various degrees of loudness, and the second group is heard at a comfortable listening level.

The following audiogram shows hearing levels which would be classified as a “Mild Hearing Loss.” A hearing loss of this degree – from 26 dB to 40 dB hearing level – may be due to many causes, ranging from a plug of earwax in the outer ear to a serious ear disease or injury. Degree of hearing loss is only one aspect of the clinical description – the cause or diagnosis is also important.

Impedance and Acoustic Reflex Test

Impedance audiometry consists of a number of related measurements designed to evaluate the sound transmitting properties of the middle ear structures and hearing nerve, the function of the Eustachian tube, the middle ear muscles, and the middle ear pressure. A small earplug (special measuring device) is inserted into the ear canal. A low-pitched humming noise is delivered to the ear, accompanied occasionally by small pressure changes (similar to altitude changes). Information about the ear can be obtained by this procedure without requiring a response from the patient.

The Hearing In Noise Test – HINT for Windows

The HINT for Windows test assesses the functional hearing ability of a listener. Functional hearing ability is the set of hearing abilities that enables a person to perform normally their daily activities requiring normal hearing. Specifically, HINT for Windows measures a listener’s ability to hear in a noisy environment. Many people have problems hearing when there are competing noises. For example, in a restaurant, the conversations of others may make it difficult to hear the conversation of a dinner partner. A person with normal hearing-in-noise capabilities can understand better in a noisy environment than many people with hearing loss. This functional ability is not well predicted by the pure tone audiogram, nor is this ability predicted well when understandability is tested in quiet.

The HINT for Windows test is a test which assesses how loud a speech signal has to be when presented in a noisy background. The test can be used to predict functional ability in patients considering the use of hearing aids to correct hearing loss. It is useful in the determination of functional hearing abilities of persons in hearing critical jobs or environments. This testing can be done either with speakers or under earphones.

Otoacoustic Emissions – OAE Test

OAE tests are objective methods of determining the status of receiver cells in the cochlea or inner ear. These tests are useful in many situations to help determine the health or status of the sensory cells responsible for acute hearing. These tests are accomplished in a non-invasive manner with a tiny microphone and speaker inserted into the ear canal. The “echoes” from the inner ear can lead a clinician to conclusions regarding normal hearing versus damaged areas of the inner ear. This information is useful not only in an evaluative sense, but also for the purposes of making rehabilitative decisions as in the prediction of successful use of a hearing aid.

Electrocochleography

This test determines the location of an inner ear hearing defect. It is performed in the office. An electrode is inserted into the ear canal, and occasionally through the eardrum (requiring a local anesthesia) to record electrically the response of the inner ear and hearing nerve to sound stimulation. This information is then analyzed by a computer to help determine the location and type of inner ear hearing disturbance.

Auditory Brainstem Response Audiometry

This computerized hearing test is helpful in locating the site of an inner ear or brainstem hearing disorder, and in determining the degree of hearing loss in individuals incapable of responding to conventional hearing tests. Small discs placed on the skin of the ear and scalp are used to record electrical responses in the brain resulting from sound stimulation. This information is analyzed by a computer which helps determine the location and type of hearing disturbance, as well as the level of hearing loss. In infants and young children, it may be necessary to use sedation
(induce sleep).