A hearing test provides an evaluation of the sensitivity of a person's sense of hearing and is most often performed by an audiologist using an audiometer. An audiometer is used to determine a person's hearing sensitivity at different frequencies. There are other hearing tests as well, e.g., Weber test and Rinne test.
Ear examination
Prior to the hearing test, the ears of the patient are usually examined with an otoscope to make sure they are free of wax, that the eardrum is intact, the ears are not infected, and the middle ear is free of fluid (indicating middle ear infection).
Pure tone audiometry
The standard and most common type of hearing test is pure tone audiometry, which measures the air and bone conduction thresholds for each ear in a set of 8 standard frequencies from 250Hz to 8000Hz. The test is conducted in a sound booth using either a pair of foam inserts or supraural headphones connected to an external audiometer. The result of the test is an audiogram diagram which plots a person's hearing sensitivity at the tested frequencies. On an audiogram an "x" plot represents the softest threshold heard at each specific frequency in the left ear, and an "o" plot represents the softest threshold heard at each specific frequency in the right ear. There is also a high frequency version of the test which tests frequencies over 8000Hz to 16000Hz which may be employed in special circumstances.
In-situ audiometry using mobile applications
The availability of stereo headphones and smartphones or tablets equipped with sound reproduction systems led to the appearance of new audiologic diagnostic methods which help people identify their degree of hearing loss without assistance. For users of these mobile devices, there are a number of applications available with a function for audiometric hearing testing. There are also hearing aid applications with a built-in hearing test for making hearing aid adjustments.
In the process of hearing test with specialized applications, initial hearing thresholds of perception of tone signals on different frequencies (audiogram) are identified.
Hearing thresholds, like with traditional audiometry, and with a special application, are determined on a standard set of frequencies from 125 Hz to 8 kHz. Also, an application can be integrated with a function for testing the relevance of perception of separate sounds and figures of intelligibility in various acoustic conditions
Technically, the hearing test application consists of the following blocks: program module-generator of tone signals of the required frequency; graphic interface options (for fixing the user's reaction to exceeding tone perception threshold); interpreter of test results (text and graphics); database with the results of previous examinations and hearing age norms parameters
Hearing test results obtained through the application will be in error as compared to the results of hearing test conducted by an audiologist because of the following reasons: the use of specialized calibrated equipment; sound-proofing of the room where hearing test is held; heterogeneity of parameters of sound-recording systems in smartphones and tablets, and also headphones or headsets; noise masking effect of tone signals
Advantages of the audiometry conducted with a specialized application or hearing aid application include availability and possibility to do the hearing test without assistance.
Despite possible errors in the results of diagnostics, the undoubted advantages of hearing testing with a special application or hearing aid application include the ability to do the hearing test without assistance and the availability of hearing testing.
Scientists suggest that the hearing test using a mobile application can be used to identify hearing pathologies and also for hearing screening tests.