What Hearing Tests are the Most Common?

When you book a visit to a hearing professional for the first time, you could be wondering what to expect from the hearing test. The truth is, there isn’t just one type of hearing test that your hearing specialist might perform at your appointment.

In fact, there are many types of tests that a hearing health professional can perform, and each of these tests is designed to measure a specific type of hearing loss experience. By doing these various tests, your hearing professional can determine exactly what has caused your hearing loss and the type of hearing aid or other treatment you might need.

Some types of hearing tests are more common than others – and in this blog, we will list three of the most common hearing tests performed by hearing care professionals and tell you a little about them!

Pure-tone test

The pure-tone test is one of the most common types of hearing test because it tests a person for overall hearing ability. During this test, the hearing health professional will provide you with headphones, and will then play a series of sounds through them. Your job is to indicate whether you can hear the sound being played, often by raising your hand or pressing a button provided. 

This test can determine the overall level of hearing loss you are experiencing and can let the hearing health professional know which steps they should take from here.

Bone conduction 

The bone conduction hearing test involves a device being placed around your head, and then your hearing health expert will send vibrations through it. This test is performed in order to determine which part of your ear is experiencing issues, the middle or outer ear. 

From the results of the bone conduction hearing test, your hearing health professional can then determine which part of your ear is affected and proceed accordingly. It could be that fluid is blocking part of the ear, for example, needing further examination.

Speech testing

Speech testing is a very popular type of audiology hearing test, because it is simple yet highly effective. Speech testing is similar to pure-tone testing, in that you will hear sounds through a speaker at different volumes to determine the level of hearing loss you are experiencing.

However, unlike pure-tone testing, speech testing will involve your hearing specialist playing words, rather than blank beep sounds, through the device. These words will be spoken at different volumes and pitches and they may ask you to repeat them after you hear them. Speech testing allows them to determine the level of hearing loss you have, while also figuring out how you could benefit from various types of hearing aid. 

If you are wondering what your experience of a hearing test will be like, these three tests are the most commonly performed!