1. Hearing Testing – Identify and Diagnose Problems
Hearing testing is an important and effective way to
determine if a patient is undergoing any type of hearing
loss or problem. Here are some of the more common
types of testing and how they are administered.
Hearing testing is a way of evaluating the hearing
function of a person. These tests can help to find out if
there are problems with different parts of a person’s
ear. There are several types of hearing tests used.
These can include the following:
Bedside testing of hearing. These are simple tests to help determine any problems.
They can be as simple as whispering to see if the patient can hear that to playing
sounds from a tuning fork. These tests can often uncover a problem which needs further
review.
Audiometric tests. These tests are typically administered by a trained person. The
patient wears a set of headphones and tones of different frequencies and volume are
played. As soon as the patient hears these tones, he is supposed to notify the
technician by raising his hand.
This type of test can identify different types of hearing problems in more detail and help
to provide the audiologist with better information so he can make good decisions
regarding treatment.
Tympanometry is a test which measures the stiffness of the eardrum and can therefore
evaluate the middle ear effectiveness. It can also help to detect fluid in the middle ear,
negative pressure in the middle ear, perforation, or otosclerosis.
The test is administered by playing a loud sound and determining if the eardrum stiffens
sufficiently based on this sound.
Otoacoustic emissions test is relatively new. It can help to assess the hearing response
in newborns and also provides a method for determining if the cochlea is functioning
properly.
The test entails placing a probe into the ear canal. This probe contains a tiny speaker
and a tiny microphone. When a sound is generated by the speaker it is transmitted to
the inner which stimulates the hairs in the cochlea.

2. When these hairs are stimulated, they create their own low small sound which is
detected by the microphone. If there is a problem the hairs in the cochlea will not
generate these ultra low volume sounds.
The use of these hearing tests can help to identify potential problems and potentially
help prevent them from getting worse.