Although hearing loss is very common among adults, particularly those over age 65, the condition is often under diagnosed in age 65. Hearing loss can greatly impact a person’s quality of life. These include:
- Air Conduction, Conventional or Standard Audiometry — This test is basically used to measure the hearing of adults and older children. A range of test tones, from low to high frequency perceived as “pitch is transmitted through earphones placed on or in each ear, and patients are asked to concentrate with a hand raise.
- Bone Conduction — If testing reveals a hearing loss, another type of headset, a bone vibrator, is used to determine hearing by bone conduction in order to determine the type of hearing loss.
- Word Recognition —Testing is basically worked to evaluate the ability to discriminate differences between the speech sounds of various words, and how clearly the words are heard.
- Acoustic Immittance — These tests are used to assess the status of the middle ear and related structures. A type of acoustic immittance test known tympanometry, measures the movement of the eardrum to see if it moves normally when pressure changes are applied.
- Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs) — OAEs are used to assess the function of the cochlea. OAEs are typically present when hearing is normal or near normal, and are typically absent when there is a problem in the cochlea.
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) — ABR is a procedure used to measure hearing sensitivity and determine if the neural pathways within the brainstem are transmitting sound properly. This test is used to rule out auditory-neurological problems.