Perform an Audiometry Test to Check Your Hearing Function

An audiometry test is an examination carried out to evaluate hearing ability and detect hearing problems early. Hearing loss can affect anyone, from babies, adults to the elderly.

Hearing loss is a condition when a person cannot hear some or all sounds through one or both ears. People who have mild hearing loss may still be able to communicate well. However, severe hearing loss can cause deafness. This certainly disrupts the sufferer’s quality of life and causes difficulties in communicating.

Read More :

• Deafness – Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment
• Causes Of Conductive Deafness And How To Treat It
• Beware Of Cholesteatoma, An Ear Disorder That Can Cause Deafness
• 10 Ways To Care For Your Ears To Stay Healthy

Causes and Symptoms of Hearing Loss

The following are several conditions or diseases that can cause hearing loss:

1. Conductive deafness

Conductive deafness occurs when sound cannot reach the eardrum and auditory ossicles in the middle ear. This type of hearing loss will make it difficult for you to hear soft or quiet sounds.

There are several things that can cause someone to experience conductive deafness, including:

• Ear infections
• Earwax buildup
• Entry of foreign objects into the ear
• Tumors or allergic reactions in the ear canal
• Getting water too often, for example due to swimming or diving activities

2. Sensorineural deafness

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs due to damage or disturbance to the inner ear or the auditory nerve in the ear and brain. This type of hearing loss is usually permanent.

Sensorineural deafness can make it difficult for sufferers to hear sounds that are too soft or too loud. This is because sound waves caught in the ear cannot be processed by the hearing nerve and brain.

The following are several things that can cause sensorineural deafness:

• Congenital birth defects
• Aging
• Long-term exposure to noise or too loud sounds
• Head injury
• Meniere’s disease
• Acoustic neuroma
• An autoimmune disorder that damages the auditory nerve

3. Ear barotrauma

Barotrauma is a condition when the ear is injured or damaged due to changes in air pressure. People who experience ear barotrauma will usually feel their ears ringing or ringing. Barotrauma not only occurs in the ears, but also in the lungs and digestive tract.

Ear barotrauma often occurs in people who are at a certain height or depth, for example in mountains or highlands, in an airplane, or diving.

When experiencing hearing loss, a person will usually experience the following signs and symptoms:

• Often asks others to repeat what they said
• Difficulty understanding what the person you are talking to or those around you are saying or saying
• Headache
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Ears ringing

Sometimes, hearing loss also causes sufferers to often feel tired, stressed, and even withdraw from social environments.

As previously mentioned, hearing loss can be temporary or permanent and generally occurs gradually with age. However, hearing loss can sometimes occur suddenly.

If you experience the various symptoms above, you should immediately consult an ENT doctor. The doctor will evaluate hearing function by carrying out ear examinations and hearing tests, one of which is an audiometry test.

Hearing Test with Audiometry Test

Audiometry tests are carried out using a machine called an audiometer to produce sounds of different volumes and frequencies. Not only to detect hearing loss, audiometry tests are also carried out as part of routine health examinations (check-ups).

The following are the stages of examination with an audiometric test:

Preparation phase

When the audiometry test is carried out, you will be asked to sit in a special room. The examiner or audiologist will explain the examination procedures and what you need to do in the room. After that, the audiologist will put earphones in your ears.

Inspection stage

When the audiometry test begins, the audiologist will play various sounds, such as sounds and speech, at different volumes, frequencies, and intervals into both ears. This aims to determine the range of hearing ability of each ear.

During the audiometry examination, the audiologist will give instructions, for example asking you to raise your hand or repeat the words you hear. This aims to evaluate your ability to recognize words and differentiate speech sounds from surrounding sounds.

Test results analysis stage

After undergoing the test, an audiologist will review your test results. Through the results of this test, the doctor can tell you the cause of the hearing loss you are experiencing and the appropriate treatment steps to overcome it.

The audiometry test usually takes 40–60 minutes. This test does not require any special preparation beforehand and does not pose any risks. During the examination, you only need to follow the audiologist’s instructions.

If you or your family experience any symptoms of hearing loss, you should immediately consult a doctor so that hearing examinations and tests (including audiometry tests) can be carried out to assess how well your hearing is.

If the test results show that you have hearing loss, your doctor may recommend that you use a hearing aid.