A hearing test, also called a hearing exam or hearing assessment, measures the degree and type of hearing impairment. This is necessary to determine which hearing aids will be beneficial for the person with hearing loss. In some cases, hearing tests may discover information that would suggest that treatments other than hearing aids would be beneficial.
When gathering information about the person’s hearing loss, the audiologist usually does more than just administer one hearing test. The audiologist or hearing professional may ask a series of questions about the hearing loss.
More than one test may be used to determine the characteristics of the person’s hearing impairment. A pure tone test, or pure-tone audiometry, is used to show the lowest sound that can be heard.
The hearing test results indicate the severity of the hearing loss. The audiologist measures the amount of hearing loss that the person has. Up to twenty decibels is considered normal hearing. Mild hearing loss is a hearing loss of twenty to forty decibels.
A hearing loss of forty to sixty decibels is moderate hearing loss. Severe hearing loss is sixty to eighty decibels. Profound hearing loss is a hearing loss that is eighty decibels or more.
Hearing tests also show if the hearing loss is unilateral or bilateral. Unilateral hearing loss only affects one ear. Bilateral hearing loss is an impairment of hearing in both ears.
The hearing test results also determine the type of hearing loss. The audiologist checks to see if the hearing impairment is a conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, or mixed. If it is a sensorineural hearing loss, the audiologist can perform a test to determine if the impairment is due to an inability of the brain to process auditory information.
The range of the hearing impairment is discovered with hearing tests. People with hearing impairments differ in which range of sounds are most affected by the hearing loss. Some people have a high-frequency hearing loss, while others have low frequency hearing loss.
Hearing test results from other hearing tests may show problems with the middle ear such as the presence of fluid or a ruptured eardrum. Hearing tests may be used to measure the functioning of the cochlea or brainwave activity in response to sounds.
With the results, you will be able to identify what hearing aids will best suits you.