What’s in a Hearing Test?
Hearing tests can help discover a number of things about hearing and determines what type of hearing aid is best suited for you. The basic principle is that a hearing test determines the amount of hearing loss a person may have by measuring a person’s ability to hear sounds that reach the inner ear through the ear canal (air-conducted sounds) and sounds transmitted through the skull (bone-conducted sounds).
Testing a person’s hearing can tell if there is damage to the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear or auditory nerve. This can also sometimes be seen with an otoscope, which an audiologist uses to look at the ear up close.
Some hearing tests involve listening to several different pitches of sounds at various volumes. The person taking the test will signal when they can hear the sound.
Other tests ask the participant to listen to combinations of words and numbers while background music and sounds play simultaneously. The participant will choose which words/numbers they heard.
After the test, the hearing specialist can determine:
- If there is hearing loss
- What part of the ear may be damaged
- What type of hearing system is right for you.
Beltone offers a hearing test online here. If you do not get a perfect or near-perfect score on the test, consider visiting a hearing specialist to see what your options are to improve your hearing.
Learn More About Hearing Tests