By Veselina Dzhingarova
Hearing tests are important diagnostic tools that provide insights into the health and function of your ears. More than just assessing hearing ability, these tests can detect underlying problems and help prevent further damage. This article explores what hearing tests entail and what they can reveal about the state of your overall ear health.
Hearing tests aim to determine your ability to detect sounds across different frequencies and volumes. This allows audiologists to map out your hearing sensitivities and identify any deficits. The most common test is a pure tone audiometry, which involves listening to pure tone beeps through headphones and signalling when you hear them. Your thresholds are measured in decibels and plotted on a chart called an audiogram. Speech discrimination tests assess how well you can discern speech, using word lists. Tympanometry looks at the condition of your eardrum and middle ear by changing air pressure. Otoacoustic emissions measure faint sounds emitted from your inner ear when stimulated by clicks or tones.
One of the primary uses of hearing tests is to check for hearing loss. This can range from mild to profound and affect certain frequencies more than others. Sensory hearing loss stems from inner ear damage, while conductive loss involves the outer and middle ear. By charting your thresholds and speech recognition abilities, audiologists can pinpoint the type and degree of hearing loss. This enables suitable treatments like hearing aids. Monitoring changes over time also helps diagnose progressive loss. Hearing tests in children help detect issues early when they are most treatable.
In addition to hearing loss, tests can identify various other ear problems. Tympanometry and acoustic reflex testing can reveal fluid buildup, eardrum perforations, ear infections, stiffening of the middle ear bones and more. Otoacoustic emissions test the function of outer hair cells in your inner ear, which amplify sound. Abnormal or absent emissions suggest damage that may predict future hearing loss. Auditory brainstem response tests how your brainstem encodes sound by measuring its response to clicks. Irregular results can signify tumours or neurological issues.
By examining your outer, middle and inner ear function, hearing tests give a comprehensive overview of your general ear health. They can reveal blockages in the ear canal, age-related changes to hearing, genetic conditions, noise-induced damage, ear bone fusion or dislocation, inner ear hair cell loss, ear infections, Meniere’s disease, acoustic neuroma tumours and much more. So, they provide vital insights into the workings of your ears as a whole organ system. This allows any problems to be identified and managed.
Since many ear conditions develop slowly without obvious symptoms, having your hearing checked regularly is crucial. Getting a baseline test in adulthood gives you a reference point. From then on, it’s recommended to have one every two to three years. This can help diagnose issues at early treatable stages. More frequent monitoring is advisable if you have occupational noise exposure, take ototoxic medicines, notice deteriorating hearing, or have a family history of hearing loss. You can then decide whether hearing aids or other treatment is necessary—click here to learn more about hearing aids & hearing tests in Bangor Northern Ireland.
Hearing tests are a simple and informative way to assess your ear function and identify any underlying problems, even before you notice them yourself. Making these tests a regular part of your health maintenance is important for detecting issues early. So, schedule an appointment and see what your next hearing test reveals.