Test Your Hearing

If you feel that your sense of hearing is not as good as it was before, this is the perfect time for you to get a hearing test and it is a relatively simple process. In this case, you need to consult with an audiologist because he or she will be able to tell you if you have something wrong when it comes to your hearing after conducting a series of sound tests. With an audiometer, the audiologist will be able to measure how sensitive our ears are when it comes to certain sounds.

Here, you will learn about the first kind of hearing test that makes use of an audiometer to evaluate the hearing skills of people through different frequencies but there are two other exams that can be used. Serving as another alternative in this case is the Weber test. Why don’t you try the Rinne test in this case?

It is important to understand the workings of the audiometer because it is a main tool in hearing tests. You will be subjected to a series of sound tests after being placed in a soundproof booth. Taking this test into consideration, the person taking the exam will be instructed to wear a set of headphones that is connected to the main audiometer mechanism and then the audiologist will run a series of sound tests on a variation of frequencies wherein the person will be asked to repeat some of the sounds and he or she must inform the examiner if he or she no longer hears anything.

This is your average test for hearing. You also have the Weber test for hearing which was named after Ernst Heinrich Weber and uses a vibrating tuning fork that is placed in different areas of the face. In this case, areas like the chin or the middle of the forehead touch the fork as long as they are equidistant to the ears.

This can evaluate a person’s hearing because if the person has no hearing problems, he or she will be able to hear the sound coming from the vibration of the tuning fork in both ears. Some people who undergo this test hear a louder sound in one ear and a softer one in the other. With regard to this test, it is effective in detecting unilateral hearing conditions.

Named after an otologist from Germany, Heinrich Adolf Rinne, was the Rinne test. Compared to the Weber test, this one is more scientific in the sense that it compares a person’s perception of sounds. With regard to sound transmission, it is done through the air or by bone conduction through the mastoid.

Similar to the Weber test, the Rinne test also makes use of a vibrating tuning fork where the sound created is of a higher frequency. What the examiner does is place the tuning fork on the mastoid process until no sound can be heard. Here, the examiner then places the tuning fork outside the ear.

If the person has no hearing problem, he or she will still be able to hear some form of sound at this point. When you have a hearing problem, you will not be able to hear. In this manner, the Rinne test is able to detect problems with hearing.

Some people who get hearing tests also have their speech evaluated. Part of the hearing test involves having the person being evaluated to repeat the sounds he or she hears by the audiologist administering the sound tests in different frequencies. People who are able to hear well can also distinguish words easily.

Based on the results of a hearing evaluation, a person may be instructed to visit specialists if necessary. To reverse a hearing loss problem, you should get treated. There are also some occasions when the loss of hearing becomes permanent.