Hearing impairment other diagnostic studies

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [[1]]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:

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Overview

Within 14 days of symptom onset in patients with sudden hearing loss, clinicians should obtain, or refer to a clinician who can obtain, audiometry as soon as possible to confirm the diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Another method for determining deafness is that the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT). Genetic testing could also be considered to be a strong tool for addressing hearing disorders in children.

Other Diagnostic Studies

Within 14 days of symptom onset in patients with sudden hearing loss, clinicians should obtain, or refer to a clinician who can obtain, audiometry as soon as possible to confirm the diagnosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. There are several techniques of performing audiometry, including pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, visual reinforcement audiometry, and play audiometry.

Audiogram:

• The quietest sound you can hear at different frequencies is plotted on an audiogram to reflect your ability to listen to variable frequencies. The range of normal human hearing from the softest audible sound to the loudest audible sound is so great that the audiogram must be plotted using a logarithmic scale. This large normal range of hearing different sounds at different frequencies, and therefore the different amounts of deafness at different frequencies, make it virtually impossible to accurately describe the amount of hearing loss in simple terms such as simple percentages or the rankings above. Measurement of deafness in terms of percentages or numbers is debatable in terms of effectiveness.

Hearing in Noise Test:

• Another method for determining deafness is that the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT). HINT technology was developed by the House Ear Institute and is intended to measure an ability to understand speech in quiet and also in noisy environments. Unlike pure-tone tests, where only one ear is tested at a time, HINT evaluates hearing using both ears simultaneously, as binaural hearing is essential for communication in noisy environments, and for localization of sound.

Genetic tests:

• Genetic testing could also be considered to be a strong tool for addressing hearing disorders in children. Genetic testing is defined as the analysis of human DNA in order to detect heritable-related mutations causing hearing loss as early as possible.