Common Tests for Hearing Loss Due to Aging

Hearing loss due to aging is affecting about a 3rd of older Americans aged 65 to 85, according to the National Institutes of Health. Affected seniors have problems in understanding and responding to conversation.

Hearing loss has effects on the old disproportionately, but it also is affecting the young, even new-borns. A collection of tests, including audiometry, general screening, Tune Fork, BAER and Otoacoustic Emissions can help identify the cause and treatment.

The general screening test is the 1st test performed either as routine care or associated with hearing Problems, and it's done on each ear separately. Te provider will talk words at different levels to check the way in which the patient responds to sound level. The patient will sometimes get asked to copy the words. If he is having Problems hearing the words, the provider will speak loudly to work out if the response changes.

Tuning Fork Tests involve two-pronged instruments, which create a tone while vibrating. The provide will typically strike the instrument, leading it to vibrate and make a sound. The vibrations made are used to pinpoint the patient’s capability to hear different sound frequencies in the vibrating area of the middle ear and the eardrum.

The Tuning Fork Test is also used to check for damage sensors, damage of the nerves in the inner ear, or damage in both areas. Based mostly on the patient’s ability to hear the sound, the medical care supplier will be well placed to resolve whether the hearing loss is due only to the nerves or if the issue is the sound reaching the nerves.

The Pure Tone Audiometry procedure is performed using an audiometer machine, which measures hearing tones thru a headphone so as to determine hearing loss. The testing is done by an audiologist who controls the tone and volume of the sounds in the earphones. The patient presses a button or lifts his hand when he hears the sound and the provider keeps changing the sound to test when the patient isn't able to hear it. The audiologist will then increase the volume and repeat the test.

Auditory Brain Stem Response (ABR) or (BAER) brain stem auditory rouse reply is a test aiming to identify sensorineural hearing loss by placing electrodes on the scalp and on each earlobe. Clicking noises are then transmitted thru the ear[hones and the electrodes measure the brain reaction to the clicking sound. The reply is recorded on a graph.

Ultimately, Otoacoustic Emissions Testing (OAE) is a screening test tool used to check the hearing of newborns. Testing involves placing a tiny mic in the ear canal, which detects any reaction to sounds in the internal ear.

Jeremy J. Ross is a recognized analyst in aging science and he is doing studies on age spots. To discover more about aging research visit https://www.AmericanAgingResearch.org