Hearing Tests
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Test Overview
A hearing (audiometric) test is part of an ear examination that evaluates a person's ability to hear by measuring the ability of sound to reach the brain.
Sounds are actually vibrations of different frequencies and intensities in the air around us. Air in the ear canals and bones in the ears and skull help these vibrations travel from the ear to the brain, where you "hear" them. Hearing tests check for hearing loss, identify how severe it is, and determine what is causing it. Hearing tests help determine what kind of hearing loss you have by measuring your ability to hear sounds that reach the inner ear through the ear canal (air-conducted sounds) and sounds transmitted through bones (bone-conducted sounds).
Most hearing tests ask you to respond to a series of tones or words, but there are some hearing tests that do not require a response.
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| Last updated: | April 30, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Monica Rhodes |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Charles M. Myer, III, MD - Otolaryngology |
| Editors: | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Tracy Landauer |
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