What you need to know

Hearing and Balance Tests

Hearing Test

What is sound?

The sounds that you hear begin as vibrations from air, liquid, and solid materials around you. These vibrations create sound waves that vibrate at certain frequencies and have specific amplitudes, creating different sounds. The frequency of a sound wave determines the pitch, and the amplitude determines the volume. These sound waves travel through your ear and turn into nerve impulses that the brain receives, allowing you to hear the sound. A hearing test measures how well your brain receives sounds through the ear canal and the skull to determine the type of hearing loss that you have.

What happens during a hearing test?

To undergo a hearing test, schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist known as an audiologist. After asking questions related to your hearing, the audiologist will conduct a visual examination of your ears using an otoscope. This can help the audiologist identify the cause of your hearing loss, as it could be related to excessive earwax buildup or an issue with your eardrum or ear canal.

Next, the hearing test will take place. You may be surprised to learn what happens during a hearing test, because it actually involves several different tests. These examinations help detect the variety of sounds that you can hear (or not hear). You are never at risk for complications during a hearing test, and discomfort is very rare. Most of the tests require that you respond to words or tones, but some require no response at all. What happens during a hearing test depends on the types of exams the doctor or nurse performs. Below you will find a list of possible hearing tests and an overview of what happens during each test.

Auditory Brainstem Response Test

Also referred to as brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) or brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing, this exam detects hearing loss from inner ear problems. It involves the placement of electrodes on your scalp and earlobes, and you will also be asked to wear earphones. As the doctor sends clicking noises through the earphones, the electrodes will monitor how your brain responds to the sounds and a computer will record those responses on a graph.

Tympanometry

To evaluate both the condition of the middle ear and the mobility of the eardrum and conduction bones, audiologists use tympanometry. Although not technically a hearing test, this examination measures the energy transmission of the middle ear. Your audiologist will create variations of air pressure in your ear canal and then measure your eardrum’s response.

Other types of Hearing tests

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Test

Doctors commonly use this hearing test to check for hearing issues in newborns, but the exam doesn’t distinguish between outer and inner ear issues. During the test, an audiologist inserts a small, soft microphone into the ear canal. A flexible probe introduces sound, and the microphone detects the response of the inner ear to the sound.

Pure Tone Audiometry Test

This is a key hearing test used to detect hearing threshold levels as well as the configuration, degree, and type of the hearing loss. During the test, you wear headphones connected to an audiometer that plays a series of tones. Your doctor will control the volume, lowering it until you can’t hear the sound anymore. Then, the physician will increase the volume until you hear it again. You will indicate that you can hear the sound by pressing a button or raising your hand. This process will be repeated several times, adjusting the pitch of the tone and switching between ears.

Balance Testing

Electronystagmography (ENG) Testing

You have been scheduled for an Electronystagmography (ENG) test. This test provides an objective measure of the vestibular (balance) system. During the test, your eye movements will be recorded and the different patterns of movement will be evaluated.

The test consists of three parts: (1) Eye movements: you will watch a target light that is either stationary or in motion; (2) Positionals: you will move through various head and body positions (i.e., on your back with your head to the right); and (3) Calorics: your ears will be warmed or cooled with 60 seconds of airflow into your ear canals. The third portion of the test may elicit a sensation of turning that lasts less than two minutes and subsides as the ear returns to your normal body temperature. The purpose of these procedures is to determine if any of them elicit nystagmus (rhythmic, involuntary eye movements).

Posturography

Dynamic platform posturography is a computerized test that assesses your ability to maintain your standing balance under various conditions. In posturography, you stand on a computer-controlled platform that moves as your body sways. Your responses are recorded and analyzed to diagnose the origin of your balance problem.

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