Hearing loss can influence anyone and usually progresses so gradually. It can be hard to notice until you experience symptoms. Hearing loss has extensive effects on your health. Thus, getting annual follow-up tests and having baseline hearing tests can aid you to catch it early. The purpose of a test for hearing loss is to identify not only if you need a hearing loss. Yet, how mild or severe it is. An in-depth hearing tests can also define the type of hearing loss you need. 

Know what a hearing test is

             A hearing test gives a measurement of the sensitivity of a person’s hearing across the entire range of speech.  The test will quantify the quietest sound that can be heard at some points across the speech range. The audiogram is known as the hearing test. The hearing test will be executed by an audiologist. Whether on a private basis or NHS the basics of the test. Normal hearing happens when sound waves travel into the ear, resulting in your eardrum vibrate.

Hearing loss happens when there is a problem with more parts of the ear. The nerves inside the ear or the part of the brain that manages to hear. Having a hearing loss is common for older adults. 

Know the various types of hearing tests  

• Speech Testing
• This type of testing is used to compute your speech reception threshold (SRT). Or the indistinct speech you can understand 50% of the time. It is administered in either a noisy or quiet environment and checks your ability to separate speech from background noise.
• Pure Tone Testing
• This type of test also called pure tone audiometry, uses air conditioning to estimate your ability to hear sounds. At volumes and different pitches. You will be requested to wear headphones and sit in a specially built booth. Various sounds will be announced through the headphones. You will be instructed to press a button or raise your hand every time you hear a tone. In an audiogram, the results will be scheme.

• Tympanometry
• This test estimates the movement of your eardrum in response to air pressure. It can identify if there is wax buildup, the buildup of fluid, eardrum perforations, or tumors.
• Bone Conduciton Testing
• This is a pure-tone test that tests your inner ear’s response to sound. A conductor will be put behind your ear, it will give tiny vibrations through the bone straight to the inner ear.