Hearing Test FYI
Hearing tests are usually administered to evaluate the sensitivity of hearing of a person experiencing hearing problems, someone who already suffers from a hearing impairment, or as a routine check of an infant or young child’s development. What is essentially tested is the patient’s ability to hear by measuring the ability of sound reaching the brain.
People hear vibrations that produce sound waves. The sound waves vibrate at various frequencies and even height or amplitude. The speed of the sound wave subsequently determines its pitch from low to high while the sound’s amplitude is its loudness or volume.
These waves travel through our ears and in turn, become nerve impulses that go to the brain. The brain then “hears” them.
A painless procedure, a hearing test can actually be a number of different tests that check how well both ears are functioning and their ability to detect the various levels of sound we come across every day.
Two tests for infants, for example, are OAE or otoacoustic emissions test and ABR or auditory brainstem response test.
Meanwhile, adults who are experiencing hearing problems will be tested with an audiometer conducted by an audiologist or licensed hearing aid specialist. The patient will sit in a sound proof booth. Using headphones, they will “hear” different frequencies and volumes in each ear independently. The audiologist will then plot out an audiogram so the test will reveal which frequencies we hear normally are not being picked up.
For more information regarding hearing loss, contact your nearest hearing centre today and arrange a consultation.
December 13, 2010 at 8:13 am Comments (0)