How do I know I have a hearing problem?
Adults
- you need to ask people to repeat themselves
- people appear to be mumbling
- you are straining to hear soft speech
- Tinnitus – ringing or noises in the ear
- the TV/Radio volume often needs to be increased
- you have difficulty hearing conversation on the telephone
- conversation with background noise is more difficult than it used to be
- female voices are more difficult to understand
Babies and Children
- speech development is delayed compared to other of the same age
- they do not respond to sound
- they have difficulties learning at school
- they appear to be inattentive, restless or express some behavioural problems
The important first step is to have a comprehensive hearing test to determine the degree and type of hearing loss. Edgecliff Hearing Audiologists can expertly interpret the results and advise if you need a referral for medical diagnosis and if management is necessary.
Further tests may include speech discrimination in noise, speech processing and loudness discomfort testing.
Adult Hearing Tests
There are at least five parts to a hearing assessment, which collectively provide an audiologist with the information necessary to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
- History – the audiologist will consider information you provide regarding your hearing health, and familiar patterns relating to hearing problems, and noise exposure levels.
- Otoscopy – using an auriscope (ear light) the audiologist will examine the appearance of your ear canal and ear drum
- Tympanometry – this is a test of the middle ear including the ear drum.
- Pure Tone Audiometry – Sounds at different frequencies are presented to each ear separately via headphones. This is how we identify your hearing thresholds and determine whether your type of hearing loss involves the outer, middle or inner ear.
- Speech Audiometry – this tests your hearing of the complex signal of speech. You will be asked to repeat words or sentences.
Paediatric Hearing Tests for Babies and Children
There are usually three parts to a paediatric hearing assessment:
- Otoscopy – using an auriscope (ear light) the audiologist will examine the appearance of your child’s ear canal and ear drum
- Tympanometry – this is a test of the middle ear including the ear drum. These tests can identify the presence of ear infections or glue ear.
- The third part of the hearing assessment will depend on the age of the child.
0 – 6 months Oto-Acoustic Emissions (OAE). A tiny microphone in the ear canal measures echoes from the inner ear.
7 – 30 months Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA). Babies and young children are accompanied by parents and conditioned to turn to look at a puppet when they hear a calibrated sound.
2 1/2 – 5 years. Play Audiometry. Children are conditioned to make a play response when they hear a sound.
5 years and older. Children are assessed similar to an adult.
Here’s a demonstration of a VRA test performed by the University of Canterbury.
Click here to learn about the Audiogram Hearing Tests
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Further tests may include speech discrimination in noise, speech processing and loudness discomfort testing.
Free Online Hearing Test
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