One of the five fundamental senses, hearing allows us to perceive the world around us. With the advent of time, your hearing ability decreases and thus a regular hearing test is mandatory in this fast sonorous life. However, hearing tests are not complex processes but there are certain medical aspects one must look into before conducting one.
In this article, we will discuss steps doctors usually follow in hearing tests.
Step-by-Step Guide for Hearing Tests
To protect our auditory perception, a registered medical practitioner follows the below mentioned steps for a hearing test:
Step 1: Assess Patient’s History
Initially, the first step a doctor does while planning to conduct a hearing test is to assess the medical history of a patient. This helps an audiologist or medical practitioner get an idea about the patient’s potential risk for loss of hearing.
Step 2: Primary Assessment
Secondly, the doctor will check for any type of visible issues within a patient’s ear with an otoscope. Visible issues may include certain obstructions or cuts within the patient’s ear canal.
Step 3: Identify the Type of Test Necessary
Thirdly, a doctor will determine the type of test a patient needs to get an accurate reading of his/her ear. After the test, the doctor determines whether said patient needs hearing aids or not. However, the price of hearing aids depends on its features and functionalities it provides as well as individual needs of patients.
Some Common Types of Tests
Pure Tone Audiometry:- This is one of the most common types of hearing tests. A patient is given a pair of headphones with different frequencies of noises playing through them. The patient then identifies the frequency at which they can hear. However, for precise readings, doctors recommend taking said test in a soundproofed room.
Bone Conduction Test:- This test leaves the outer and middle ear and directly tests the inner ear. Patient’s are given bone conduction oscillators to wear on their forehead through a headband. This helps doctors with identifying types of hearing loss i.e. conductive or sensorineural.
Speech Audiometry:- The most basic form of hearing test. In this test, the patient listens to different voices at different volumes. The patients then made to repeat what they heard at that specific said volume. This helps identify specific volumes at which a specific patient can hear.
Tympanometry:- This test finds out the biological health of your middle ear and eardrum. Doctors insert a probe into the patient’s ear through which they pass varied air pressure. This helps doctors to find out how a patient’s eardrum is responding to each amount of pressure.
Step 4: Discuss the results
The final stage is the discussion of results with the patient.
From music’s enchanting melodies to environmental awareness, the wonders of auditory perception are woven intricately into our daily life. Some doctors choose to go for a speech-in-noise hearing test to identify a patient’s ability to understand speech in challenging situations.
