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Every AuDNet™ Audiologist Offers Comprehensive Audiology Hearing Tests to Diagnose Hearing Problems

A key part of an audiologist's education and training is in conducting audiology hearing tests. These crucial tests help determine hearing sensitivity and are an essential part of analyzing the causes of deafness and hearing problems. Each AuDNet Audiologist has undergone thorough training not only in audiology testing procedures, but also in the interpretation of audiology hearing test results and implementation of the protocols and hearing aids and instruments that will most effectively address hearing problems. The comprehensive hearing tests available at an AuDNet audiology practice are always performed by a highly trained audiologist, and they begin the path to better hearing and enjoyment of life.

• Video Otoscope Examination
• Audiometer Test
• Bone Conduction Hearing Test
• Speech-Recognition and Understanding Tests
• Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex Tests
• Pediatric Hearing Tests
• Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Test
• Balance / Dizziness Testing
• Canalith Repositioning
• Speech Mapping
• Contact AuDNet for More Information

Video Otoscope Examination

The AuDNet Audiologist begins the audiology hearing test by interviewing you about your health history, any times you may have been exposed to sustained elevated noise levels, and whether or not you have experienced any trauma to your head or ears. Then your audiologist will examine your ears with an otoscope or advanced video otoscope. These cone-shaped devices illuminate the inside of your ears so that your audiologist can carefully examine the ears' inner structures to determine if they are free of damage or abnormalities that cause hearing problems. Your audiologist will explain the ears' inner structures, their function, and any problems that may exist. With the video otoscope, you will be able to see your ear drum and the inside of your ear canal on a large video screen.

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Audiometer Test

To perform the audiometer test, your AuDNet Audiologist has you sit in a soundproof booth and either put on a set of headphones or insert earphones into your ear canal that are connected to an audiometer. The audiometer emits pure tones at specific frequencies to each ear individually. Your job is to push a button or raise your hand to indicate when you hear a tone. As you respond to the various tone frequencies, the audiologist can determine at which frequency levels the hearing in each ear is good and not so good. The audiologist plots the results of the audiometer test on a chart known as an audiogram. Red O's indicate the right ear's results and blue X's chart the left ear's results. When these symbols are joined by lines, the audiologist can determine whether your hearing ability is within normal range or identify the degree of hearing problem that has affected your hearing.

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Bone Conduction Hearing Test

Bone conduction audiology hearing tests are administered to evaluate what kind of hearing problems are present. These tests help the audiologist to determine if the hearing loss is conductive, sensorineural, or mixed. Conductive hearing problems originate in the outer or middle ear; sensorineural hearing problems involve irregularities with the cochlea, the snail-shaped sensory organ for hearing, or the auditory nerve. The audiologist will place a small vibrator on your forehead or on the bone behind your ear. This instrumentation vibrates at different frequencies, and you will indicate with a raised hand or by pushing a button when you hear each frequency.

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Speech-Recognition and Understanding Tests

While most audiology hearing tests involve perception of tonal frequencies, the speech tests employ actual words. As in the audiometer test, the audiologist will have you sit in a soundproof booth. You will be instructed to repeat the words you hear. You will hear a series of two-syllable words at a volume that gradually decreases as the test progresses. In the second stage of the test, you will hear and repeat a series of one-syllable words at a volume that does not change. By performing these tests, the audiologist can identify hearing and understanding problems and determine the levels at which you can detect and understand speech. In addition, the AuDNet Audiologist will use these speech test results to help select the most appropriate amplification to solve your understanding problems.

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Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex Tests

The tympanometry test is performed to measure the response of your ear drum and other structures of the middle and outer ear to air pressure to see if they are possible sources of hearing problems. The audiologist first places a soft rubber probe snugly into your ear. You then hear buzzing sounds as the air pressure in the ear canal is varied. In the tympanometry test you simply sit quietly as the audiologist records the test results on a chart called a tympanogram.

The acoustic reflex test helps the audiologist determine the extent of your hearing problems and measures the contractive reflex of the stapedius muscle, which helps to protect the ear from loud sounds. The test employs the same probe used in tympanometry audiology hearing tests. A series of loud sounds at varying frequencies is presented in each ear while you sit as quietly as possible. As in the tympanometry test, you will not have to indicate any changes in the sounds you hear.

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Pediatric Hearing Tests

No child is too young to have a hearing evaluation. The Children’s Health Act of 2000 authorizes statewide newborn and infant hearing screenings with the goal of all babies being screened for hearing loss by one month of age. Out of every 1,000 newborn babies, approximately three will have a hearing impairment, making hearing loss the most common birth defect.

Audiologists perform comprehensive hearing assessments that vary depending upon the age and developmental status of the child. An infant 3-6 months of age should awaken or startle to loud sounds, make cooing or babbling sounds, and quiet when spoken to. If these behaviors are not observed, the audiologist may perform special computerized tests such as an otoacoustic emission evaluation (OAE) and/or auditory brainstem response evaluation (ABR) to determine if a hearing loss is present.

At age 6 months, babies with normal hearing turn their head toward sounds. By 9 months they begin to respond to their name and understand simple words such as “no-no” or “bye-bye.” In addition to computerized evaluations, audiologists evaluate babies of 6-9 months of age and older in a sound treated room by observing the baby’s response to sounds, reinforcing that response with toys or lights, and conditioning the baby to respond to progressively softer sounds.

Around 12 months of age, a baby should be repeating simple words such as “mama” or “dada” and point to favorite toys. The number of words a baby says and understands should increase steadily throughout the next several years. If a baby shows delayed speech and/or language development, a hearing evaluation by an audiologist should be completed immediately. Never assume a child has normal hearing.

Other signs of childhood hearing loss include: pulling at the ears, babbling or talking loudly, asking to have the TV turned up, or asking to repeat what was said.

Ear infections or middle ear fluid are common childhood conditions that can develop in kids of all ages, though they occur most frequently between the ages of six months to two years. Middle ear fluid or ear infections may cause conductive hearing loss, however this type of hearing loss is usually temporary and often medically treatable. Audiologists complete “tympanometry” as a part of the test battery to determine if a child may have middle ear fluid.

Never delay scheduling your child for a hearing evaluation by a licensed audiologist. The earlier a child with hearing loss is identified, the sooner appropriate intervention can begin. Even a mild hearing loss can have significant negative impact on a child’s development.

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Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Test

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) are sounds generated in the inner ear (cochlea) of normal-hearing ears by active biomechanical vibrations within the outer hair cells. Using specialized equipment available in many AuDNet offices, normal hearing ears show robust responses while damaged ears display reduced or absent responses. Two types of OAE tests are used: Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions. These tests provide an objective measurement of inner ear activity and an important diagnostic tool for your AuDNet Audiologist.

Using special equipment that is attached to the ear canal with a small tube, AuDNet audiologists can vary the stimulus and intensity of the signal to determine diagnostic patterns in neonatal screening, ototoxic drug monitoring, detect early signs of noise exposure, monitor Meniere’s disease and other diagnostic site of lesion testing such as inner ear vs. nerve dysfunction plus interpret the test results. OAE testing is a quick and painless test that is often ordered by physicians.

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Balance / Dizziness Testing

Nystagmus is a Greek word meaning "eye jerks". Neural connections exist between the balance mechanism located in the inner ear and the muscles of the eyes. By monitoring eye movements and nystagmus patterns (eye jerks), the audiologist can determine whether the cause of dizziness or a balance problem is the result of inner ear dysfunction (Peripheral Nervous System), brain or cerebellum dysfunction (Central Nervous System), or both. Dizziness or balance disorders can also result from vision, proprioceptive, or somatosensory disorders.

Electronystagmography (ENG) or Videonytagmography (VNG) are tests used by audiologists to evaluate the balance system. During ENG, five electrodes are placed on the head; one to the side of each eye, one between the eyes, and one above and below one eye. This allows the audiologist to monitor horizontal and vertical eye movements (nystagmus). During VNG, a camera monitors the horizontal and vertical eye movements instead of electrodes.

ENG/VNG are a series of tests. Initially, the patient is asked to follow a light as it moves left, right, up, and down, while the audiologist examines the eyes for nystagmus. The patient’s head and body are then placed in different positions to see if a certain position(s) elicit nystagmus. Next, the patient is moved from a sitting position to a head hanging right position, and then head hanging left position, to see if such movement makes the patient dizzy. Finally, warm air or water is put in each ear to see if there is an increase in response in the balance system, followed by cold air or water to see if there is a decrease in the response from the balance system. The audiologist decides if the response from both ears is equal and within the normal range or abnormal and typically reports the test results and refers patients to a physician for treatment.

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Canalith Repositioning

One common cause of dizziness is known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BBPV). Typically, patients with BBPV report brief duration (15-30 seconds) room spinning (vertigo) when they roll to the left or right in bed. BPPV is the leading cause of dizziness in persons over the age of 65.  Viral infection, reduced blood flow, a blow to the head, hormonal changes, and aging are some of the known causes of BPPV. For years patients were told to “live with” this dizziness, but today, some patients can benefit from Canalith Repositioning.

We all have three intertwining canals that represent part of the balance system of the inner ear. These canals are called semicircular canals and each is responsible for monitoring head position. The superior canal monitors up and down head movement, the horizontal canal monitors left to right head movement, and the posterior canal monitors front to back head movement. In addition, a sac in the inner ear called the Utricle monitors horizontal plane movement and gravity, which is how we know if we are standing, sitting, or lying down. When calcium carbonate crystals break free from the tiny hair cells in this sac, the result can be the dizziness described above as BBPV.

The audiologist will determine which canal has the problem that is causing the dizziness, and then put the patient through a series of head and body movements (canal repositioning procedure) to move the calcium carbonate crystals back from where they came. These maneuvers are typically painless and once completed successfully, the patient no longer experiences dizziness.

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Speech Mapping

AuDNet audiologists often measure the performance of hearing instruments directly in their patient’s ears. A small silicone tube (called a probe tube) is inserted into the patient’s ear canal before placing the hearing instrument in the patient’s ear. This tube is connected to equipment that measures the sound levels being produced in the patient’s ear. Often, these sound levels are measured while the patient listens to live or recorded speech. The measurements are displayed on a computer screen that also displays the patient’s hearing loss. This direct measure of hearing instrument function relative to the patient’s individual hearing loss allows the AuDNet audiologist to adjust the hearing instrument settings precisely to maximize speech audibility, comfort, and understanding.

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Contact AuDNet for More Information

Contact AuDNet today to learn more about how audiology hearing tests available from an AuDNet Audiologist can determine the cause and degree of your hearing problems. AuDNet can also provide further information on why an advertised "free hearing test" is often not in your best interest. Visit www.aud-net.com to learn more about why hearing and balance treatment is best provided by an AuDNet Audiologist.

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