Types of Audiologic Testing

 Florida Ear Nose Throat

Facial Plastic Surgery Center

877-EAR-NOSE

www.FloridaENT.com

Patients who suffer from hearing loss or suspect they might have another hearing and balance-related condition may benefit from audiologic testing. At Florida ENT, we offer many different types of audiologic testing for any type of hearing or imbalance a patient might be dealing with. The follow are three of the tests we commonly use:

Audiogram
How it works: Uses sounds of specific frequencies and intensity levels to determine what a person can hear in each ear.
This is your typical physician check-up, where a patient hears sounds through headphones. The patient is then asked to identify each sound and in which hear it was heard. The sounds become fainter and farther as the test progresses and the goal is to determine the lowest level at which the patient can hear.

Tympanometry
How it works: Examines and diagnoses the middle ear by varying air pressure in the ear canal to see how the ear responds.   
Tympanometry measures the functionality of the year drum. To avoid affecting ear pressure, patients may not move, speak, or swallow during the test. Any abnormal findings could be fluid in the middle ear or impacted ear wax.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response Test
How it works: Examines brain waves that have been stimulated by a clicking sound in order to evaluate the auditory pathways in the brain.
As the patient listens to a clicking noise through headphones, electrodes are placed on the scalp and earlobes. The electrodes record the brain’s reaction and the audiologist will test for diagnose nervous-system abnormalities and hearing loss. The BAER test is commonly used with infants and children.

To learn about other types of audiologic testing, click here.

The doctors at Florida ENT specialize in hearing loss and offer many different resources to you. For more information about hearing aids or hearing loss in general, give us a call at (877) EAR-NOSE today!