Hearing Screening Tools
Hearing tests determine whether individuals have trouble hearing and, if so, how it affects their lives. Babies and young children receive hearing tests as part of routine examinations, as hearing disabilities can affect learning and development. Doctors and audiologists, or hearing specialists, will use both questions and instruments to screen for hearing loss.
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Hearing Loss Types
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A problem with any part of your ear can affect your hearing. Blockages in your ear canal, via infections or fluid buildup in your outer or middle ear, can result in temporary or reversible hearing loss, called conductive hearing loss. If sounds can reach your inner ear yet you still can't hear them, your inner ear or your hearing nerve may be to blame. Called sensorineural hearing loss, this type occurs less frequently than conductive loss. Inner ear hearing loss can also be present at birth --- a rare occurrence.
Basic Hearing Exams
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Doctors and audiologists will use instrumentation that can help detect hearing loss and discover whether it affects your life. You'll undergo a physical examination of the ear, in which your doctor will use an otoscope to check the structures in your ear for damage or blocks. If she suspects some hearing loss, she can perform a "whisper check," which will determine your ability to hear whispered speech. She may also use a tuning fork to differentiate the type of hearing loss you may have.
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Tuning Fork Tests
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Two tuning fork tests, the Weber and Rinne tests, can help determine which type of hearing loss you have. An audiologist performs a Weber's test by softly striking a 512 Hz tuning fork and placing it on your scalp, forehead, nasal bones or teeth. If you hear sound in the affected ear, your hearing loss is conductive. If your loss is sensorineural, you will hear the fork best in your normal ear. Rinne's test compares air to bone sound conduction. The audiologist will strike the tuning fork and place it on your jawbone until you can no longer hear it. He will then place it near your ear. With normal hearing and sensorineural loss, you will hear air conduction sounds. Conductive loss uses bone conduction to differentiate sounds, so you will hear the sound better when your audiologist presses it to your bone. (ref 2)
Infant Hearing Tests
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Screening infants for hearing disorders is part of routine checkups, as hearing loss can affect development and learning. The automated otoacoustic emission (AOAE) commonly consists of placing a small probe in your infant's ear. The probe emits a gentle clicking sound, which may or may not produce an echo in the ear. The occurrence of an echo indicates normal hearing. If the AOAE is inconclusive, the audiologist will recommend an automated auditory brain stem response (AABR) test, which uses sensors placed on the head and neck. This test takes about 20 minutes and can give more information about your baby's hearing.
Considerations
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Although the infant screening tests and tuning fork tests are fairly accurate, they are not foolproof. Your doctor may give you a series of written questions to determine whether you have any type of hearing loss. These questions can augment instrumentation results to help determine whether you have an issue processing sounds.
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References
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