Hearing Test

Also known as: audiometry, audiological evaluation, Behavioral Audiometery, or Behavioral Hearing Test.

What is a hearing test?

A hearing test assesses the quietest sound a patient can hear in one or both hears. A typical hearing test will involve examining the ability of the ears to hear different intensities of sounds, as well as different tones and is used to determine the type and degree of hearing loss the patient may have (if any)

What happens during the procedure?

The patient wears earphones and sits in a soundproof booth.  The audiologist will plays a variety of sounds, and asks for the patient to respond by raising a hand, pressing a button or saying yes.  in order to test his or her ability to hear the sounds.

The audiologist will use various response techniques to get responses from patients who may have difficulty responding by raising a hand, pressing a button or saying yes; by teaching the patient to look to where the sound came from. When the patient looks in the direction of the sound, he sees a moving toy, video, or flashing light. This rewards your child for looking in the direction of the sound.

This test can also be completed without head phones if the child will not tolerate the headphones.

Is any special preparation needed?

No special preparation is needed for the test.

What are the risk factors?

There are no risks related to this test.

Reviewed by: Carla Colebrook-Thomas

This page was last updated on: March 26, 2019 12:27 PM

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