If you’re concerned about the condition of your hearing or you simply want to be proactive, you may be considering getting some hearing tests done. There’s more than one type of assessment that you can expect from an audiologist, depending on what you’re trying to pinpoint.
When you visit a clinic, they will likely explain every step beforehand, so you don’t need to feel nervous. Of course, it may still help if you know the different types of tests you can get and what will happen when you get them.
Pure-Tone Audiometry
One of the most common hearing tests is the pure-tone exam. Here, you will be in a quiet room with no external noise coming in. You’ll be instructed to wear headphones that will have sounds transmitted through them. These sounds will come in at various pitches and volumes. Every time you hear something, you are meant to press a button.
An audiogram will record your results and discern whether or not you have hearing loss depending on the decibels you can hear.
Speech Banana Testing
This is basically just an audiogram test wherein your audiologist will use a speech banana to figure out which sounds you are less or more able to hear. It will showcase what pitches and threshold you hit to see your response to high and low pitches.
The speech banana basically shows you where your threshold lies and the level and intensity of your receptiveness depending on tone and frequency in speech.
Speech Audiogram Threshold
This type of test figures out your speech reception threshold (SRT). There are a few different ways to go about this exam, depending on what your audiologist wants to measure.
One way to go about it is by blasting out speech from headphones or speakers and having you repeat what you heard. Another way to conduct the test is while playing a lot of background noise and seeing what the faintest speech you can hear at least fifty percent of the time is.
Bone Conduction
Bone conductors are another way to test your hearing. The device will be placed on the bone behind your ear to measure how your inner ear responds to sounds. Instead of sending audible sounds, different vibrations will be sent through to see how well your inner ear perceives these.
Just like with pure tone testing, you need to press a button when you perceive a sound.
Acoustic Reflex
For this hearing exam, you will test how your muscles contract in the middle ear depending on acoustically loud sounds. This is meant to pinpoint the location of where your problems might lie. It can also determine what kind of hearing loss you may be suffering from.
Conclusion
These are just some of the most common types of hearing tests you can take to spot any problems. It’s an excellent way to figure out the root cause of your issues and find what hearing care solutions will work best for your condition. It’s good to have this knowledge in your pocket so you can take care of your hearing and prevent any further complications from developing.
Make sure you take on the most trusted hearing care specialists. At Hear More Associates, we provide the best hearing test in Lexington, MA, and we can also outfit you with hearing aids that suit your needs. Book a free test today!
