Hearing Tests
If you're interested in having your first hearing test, chances are
there's a hearing aid dispenser or audiologist near you that will give you
one at no cost. Of course, their interest in doing so is to sell you a
hearing aid, so be aware of that going in.
There are also some online hearing screenings that can give you a rough
idea of the extent of your hearing loss.
September 2007 - BHI Site Introduces Hearing Loss
Simulator
September 2007 - Indiana Jones &The Lost of Art of
Tuning Fork Testing
February 2008 - BHI Asks for Help, Offers Prizes, in
Validating Its Quick Hearing Check
June 2008 - Free Online Hearing Test
May 2009 - A Hearing Test Made for the Big City
August 2009 - Hearing Screening App. for iPhone / iPod
touch from Unitron
October 2009 - Programming
hearing aids using speech rather than beeps!
February 2010 - Hearing Test Among Top Ten iPhone
Medical Downloads!
April 2010 - The Audiogram Explained, At Last!
May 2010 - Survey examines popularity of real-ear
probe-microphone measures
October 2010 - Improving hearing aids through listening
tests in a virtual sound environment
November 2010 -
The Hearing Aid Dispenser as the Key Factor
in Determining Successful Use of a Hearing Aid
November 2010 -
The Validity and Reliability of the BHI Quick
Hearing Check
November 2010 -
Modern Speech Audiometry with Integrated
Recorded Speech Materials
December 2010 -
New iPhone App for Testing Hearing and Hearing
Aids
December 2010 - Hearing tests, audiology procedures, and
what it all means
January 2011 - New Way to Diagnose Hearing Loss in
Infants
February 2011 - New Method of Hearing Testing
Introduced by PHSI and Audigence
June 2011 -
Online Hearing Test
June 2011 -
MarkeTrak VIII: Reducing Patient Visits Through
Verification & Validation
June 2011 - Audiotoniq
Announces Revolutionary High-Tech Hearing System
August 2011 - Hearing aid verification using real ear
measurement systems
October 2011 - The Best Phone Apps to Check Your Hearing
December 2011 - HLAA Comments on Screening for Hearing
Loss in Older Adults
More on this and related
topics
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September 2007
The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) has created a new tool to help
America appreciate the impact of hearing loss. Featured on BHI's website,
the tool, a
hearing loss simulation site presents 21 sound simulations of normal
and reduced hearing that are paired with pictures that simulate normal and
reduced vision. The paired simulations will help people with normal
hearing understand the listening challenges of someone with a hearing
loss.
In a recent article on hearing loss simulation (Hearing Journal, July
2007) Zurek and Desloge present a compelling case for the use of
simulation in the hearing healthcare field for counseling, hearing aid
fitting, training, and in hearing conservation. A number of years ago
Robinson and colleagues using an in-office sound-field, demonstrated that
the use of hearing loss simulation results in:
* a significant reduction in hearing aid returns for credit and
* improvements in the ability to close a sale
In other words an individual is more likely to keep their new hearing
aids when family members have empathic understanding of the seriousness of
their hearing loss. Hearing loss simulation permits the family members to
hear through their loved-one's ears. What a great way to facilitate
communication, encouragement and acceptance of hearing solutions.
The BHI audio simulations are based on the work of Brian Moore and
colleagues demonstrating how these listening situations sound to people
with normal hearing, and mild and moderate sensorineural hearing loss; our
thanks to Phonak for sharing these sound files.
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September 2007
As in an Indiana Jones adventure, we search for
the lost art of tuning fork testing like that used before the advent of
modern electronic audiometers, impedance audiometry, real-ear measurement
systems, and electroacoustic analyzers. Unearthed, our adventurer finds
deep in the dusty bins of history a soft leather case containing six
heavy-duty alloy tuning forks that resonate at the octaves of 128 Hz, 256
Hz, 512 Hz, 1024 Hz, 2048 Hz, and 4096 Hz (Figure 1). First proposed in
1550 A.D. by Italian physician Capivacci to determine the location of
hearing disorders, it was not until Englishman John Shore developed a
single tuning fork for tuning musical instruments at A423.5 cps that the
modern tuning fork took shape. Thereafter, German physicist Chladni in
1800 developed a set of forks for testing human hearing.
Full Story
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February 2008
In our January 4th BHI newsletter, we announced
our intent to further validate the BHI Quick Hearing Check (http://betterhearing.org/hearing_loss/quickHearingCheck.cfm)
with the help of Ruth Bentler, PhD. We have received commitments to enter
about 1,000 audiograms and speech test scores from hearing care
professionals along with our Quick Hearing Check score. Please be advised
that our request for this information is HIPAA compliant in that we do not
ask for patient identifying information. We would like a sample size of
about 5,000 subjects for this study and encourage hearing care
professionals to participate at the following site:
www.betterhearing.org/audiogram.
Full Story
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June 2008
We've seen several of these over the years, and
just ran across another one. While we can't vouch for the accuracy of this
or the other tests, the test I took agreed pretty well with my most recent
audiological test.
Check it out!
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May 2009
Luke McCarthy said he heard every word. A young
man on a noisy street told a story about parking his car next to a
construction site, where it was rolled over by a crane. "My car's been
flattened by this 44,000-pound machine," Mr. McCarthy heard the man say.
"It's been run over like it was, you know, something in a monster truck
rally." Mr. McCarthy, 68, was not outside eavesdropping. He was sitting on
Wednesday in a small room at the Center for Hearing and Communication, on
the sixth floor of a building in Lower Manhattan, watching a video with an
audiologist. "Was that hard?" asked the audiologist, Ellen Lafargue,
pausing the video. "No, but I had to pay attention," Mr. McCarthy said.
Full Story
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August 2009
uHear(tm) is a unique hearing loss screening test
application available for download to the iPhone(tm) and iPod touch(r).
With uHear, you can identify a potential hearing loss through three
assessments: Hearing Sensitivity, Speech in Noise and a Questionnaire
about common listening situations. uHear also offers a 'Locate' function
to help find the nearest Hearing Health Care Professional for a full
follow-up. uHear is for everyone. You can curb your curiosity with a
simple and convenient six minute test from the comfort of your home.
Parents and teachers can use uHear to promote healthy hearing. You can
share it with your family and friends. uHear is available for download on
iTunes(r) for free. Please note: A self-administered hearing test is not a
final diagnosis for a hearing loss. You should visit a Hearing Healthcare
Professional for further testing if a hearing loss is suspected.
Full Story
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April 2010
Does an audiogram show test results that help you
make sense of hearing loss, or is it a confusing series of lines and
circles that leaves you frustrated? Audiograms are not as complicated as
they look if you know what you're looking at. And you will by the end of
this article. Let's start with some details about what to expect when you
or your child has a hearing test and what those results tell you and your
hearing healthcare professional about hearing loss. Finally, let's look at
how this information helps you both best decide what the next steps should
be.
Full Story
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May 2010
For some reason, or probably for many related
reasons, using real-ear probe-mic measures for verification of hearing aid
performance has never become the prevailing practice. Our past surveys
suggest that only about 1/3 of dispensers have been using this
verification approach routinely, with no meaningful upward trend
observed.So, after 30 years, are things starting to change? Maybe. Some
articles from the past year certainly have stirred up lively discussions
on the topic: * In a July 2009 article, Consumer Reports concluded that
about 2/3 of hearing aids are not fitted correctly, that audiologists and
HISs do not routinely conduct probe-mic measures to assure that they are
fitted correctly, and that probe-mic testing is a "must have" procedure
for every consumer purchasing hearing aids.1 * In a recent issue of
Audiology Today, Catherine Palmer, PhD, suggested that the failure to use
probe-mic measures in the fitting of hearing aids is unethical practice.2
She based this on items from AAA's Code of Ethics such as "Members shall
maintain high standards of professional competence in rendering services"
and "Members shall provide only services and products that are in the best
interest of those served." * Last month, Sergei Kochkin and colleagues
published an extensive article in Hearing Review on hearing aid outcomes,
based on the data from MarkeTrak VIII.3 These data show that: (1) hearing
aid satisfaction is related to the testing conducted at the time of the
fitting, (2) more testing leads to more satisfaction, and (3)
probe-microphone measures are one of the tests that affect these results.
Full Story
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October 2010
Complex acoustic environments are encountered
frequently in everyday life, including, for example, in train stations,
supermarkets, and busy restaurants. People with normal hearing can usually
communicate without effort in these environments, but people with a
hearing impairment often have difficulties, even when wearing hearing
aids. Digital hearing aids are gradually becoming more powerful, though,
and more advanced signal processing can be provided to help those who wear
them. However, to develop these new processing methods it is important to
perform listening tests in these difficult listening situations.
Traditional hearing aid testing in the laboratory normally focuses on how
well speech is understood in noise. However, there is much more to the
experience of sound in everyday life. Specifically, the spatial aspects of
sound, such as from which direction a sound comes or how far away a sound
object is, are also important. This spatial awareness is used, for
example, when switching attention from one person to another during a
meeting or a dinner conversation. It also plays a major role when trying
to understand what someone is saying in a very reverberant room.
Full Story
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by Sergei Kochkin, PhD, and Ruth Bentler, PhD
November 2010
Utilizing both objective and subjective
information across four databases involving nearly 11,000 subjects, the
BHI Quick Hearing Check is shown to have high validity and reliability.
This tool can be used for effectively providing consumers with more
information about their hearing loss and moving those with hearing loss
closer to seeking a hearing solution.
According to a national survey by the Better
Hearing Institute (BHI),1 50% of adults with hearing loss do not use
hearing aids because they have not had their hearing professionally
tested. Offering free hearing tests in hearing care professional offices
may be effective in bringing some people into hearing care practices.
However, for the majority of people with hearing loss, being better
informed regarding the status of their hearing loss may be the first step
to better hearing.
Offering people quick and easy methods for
assessing their hearing loss can provide them with more information about
their hearing loss and move them closer to seeking a solution. To this
end, the Better Hearing Institute offers a Quick Hearing Check in written
form (seesidebar below), as well as an online automatic-scoring version of
the test at www.hearingcheck.org. The test provides the consumer with
hearing loss norms based on the National Council on Aging (NCOA) study2
and also descriptively evaluates how the individual's significant other
views the individual's hearing loss. Additionally, the BHI Quick Hearing
Check is used in the national MarkeTrak surveys as part of the battery to
quantify and segment people on subjective hearing loss.
Full Story
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by Tricia Mikolai and Amanda Cerka Mroz, AuD
November 2010
The dictum seems like a broken record: Recorded
speech is a more accurate method for performing speech testing.
While most of us agree we should be using recorded
speech, many practices are still resistant to this generally accepted
premise. Up to this point, the benefit of greater test control when using
live voice has far outweighed the pursuit for accuracy. Looking at a
technological landscape that includes smart phones, digital books,
Bluetooth connectivity, and tiny netbooks, it seems amazing that
audiometers haven't been able to offer both.
However, the newest generation of PC-based
audiometers, like the Madsen Astera, has revolutionized recorded speech
testing. These modern audiometers have a whole suite of integrated speech
materials and flexible testing options that propel audiometry into the
digital age.
Full Story
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December 2010
As mobile phones become more mini-computers,
inventors and entrepreneurs are creating unique applications for medicine,
including hearing apps. The most recent one is EarTrumpet, a hearing
application suite for the iPhone for $1.99. According to the product's
website, "the hearing test component analyzes your hearing" and the
hearing enhancer component "amplifies and adjusts sound to discretely
improve hearing via the earphones." EarTrumpet was created by Allen Foulad,
a medical student "aspiring to develop a set of comprehensive hearing
tools through scientific inquiry and analysis." The young inventor did not
invent his application in his parent's garage, however. In fact, the
product's literature reports that Foulad collaborated with the
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department at the University of
California, Irvine to develop the app.
Full Story
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December 2010
Here's a great article that describes many of the
various tests that audiologists perform, why they do them, and what kind
of information they get from each of them. The article is intended for
audiologists, but very understandable by the layman. So if you've been
wondering about all those tests, here's your chance to learn about them.
Full Story
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June 2011
I just ran across another online hearing test that
looks interesting and seems to do a decent job of hearing screening. Note
that none of these online tests is a replacement for testing by a
qualified hearing professional, but they can provide an indication that
you might want to have a more thorough test.
Check it out
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June 2011
We have all heard the old adage time is money. In
our recent paper,1 it was determined that the number of patient visits to
adjust hearing aids was highly correlated with real-world success. In
comparing patients who experienced above- or below-average success with
their hearing aids, the following was discovered:
* 76% of patients with above-average success were
fit in 1 or 2 visits compared to 40% of patients who experienced
below-average success.
* 47% of patients with below-average success
required 4 to 6 visits to fit their hearing aids compared to only 7% of
patients who experienced above-average success.
In short, highly successful patients required
fewer visits to the clinic. What could explain this difference in number
of visits? It is hypothesized that a lack of verification (real-ear
measurement) and validation (confirmation of a patient's performance with
their hearing aids) during the hearing aid fitting increased the number of
patient visits. For some patients the result was a less-than-optimum fit,
reduced hearing aid utility, and mediocre benefit-each of which accrues to
result in rejection and/or the return of the hearing aids for credit.
Full Story
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August 2011
According to many experts, the use of real ear
measurement, specifically speech mapping, is the "best practice" and
should be a standard service in fitting hearing aids. The United Kingdom
requires real ear measures as part of verifying correct hearing aid
fittings. The use of real ear measures provides the wearer with a valid,
replicable measure of the improvement received from amplification. Speech
mapping is quickly and easily done in the office and can take less than
ten minutes to complete.
Full Story
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October 2011
Health-related applications (known as "apps") for
smart phones are some of the most frequently downloaded apps on the
market. Young people, mid-lifers, and the "silver" generation embrace the
convenience of using smart phones as mobile storage devices and personal
information centers to improve, enhance, and simplify their lives. People
with hearing loss and those and those who suspect they may be experiencing
hearing loss have a variety of tools available to them that screen for
symptoms of tinnitus and hearing loss. These apps, which are readily
available for iPhones, phones operating on the Android operating system,
and many others, help to catch signs of hearing loss early and put
individuals in control of their own health care. Smart phone apps that
test for hearing loss serve as a means to help screen hearing-related
conditions. This enables the user to visit an audiologist or ear doctor
to relay findings. Most of these apps offer the ability ability to store
results for future retrieval and share them via e-mail with a hearing care
professional.
Full Story
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December 2011
HLAA sent comments to the U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force (USPSTF) on the issue of screening for hearing loss in older
adults December 7, 2011. HLAA Board Member Meg Wallhagen provided valuable
advice, helping us draft our comments. USPSTF is a national, independent
panel of medical experts that makes recommendations, based on scientific
evidence, to primary care doctors and other health care providers about
which clinical preventive services they should offer their patients.
USPSTF invited public comment on its draft Recommendation Statements
before publication. One of the three draft statements open for public
comment was: "Screening for Hearing Loss in Older Adults: U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force Recommendation Statement."
Full Story
