Health conditions and problems can be challenging to deal with and can take up a lot of time. Such is the case with hearing loss. Hearing loss is one of the most common health problems many people face. In most cases, hearing loss can impact an individual’s hearing ability and overall health. 

As a result, it will be advisable for you to schedule a hearing test if you encounter any hearing problems. Hearing loss can be gradual, and most people do not realize it until the problem becomes severe. Hence, it will benefit you to know what exactly happens during a hearing exam. 

You can also consider test auditif a Audiologie Centre Ouest hearing exams if you have any hearing problems.

Essential facts you must know about hearing loss:

• Common signs 

Most people do not know the common signs of a hearing test. While babies might get their first screening test in the hospital and children may get the same during school, every adult needs to know when they would need a hearing test. 

Below are some common signs of hearing loss that you must know to schedule a hearing exam: 

• Family or friends complaining that you watch the television too loud 
• People are complaining about you talking more audible than usual 
• Difficulties in hearing a conversation with or without background noise 
• Buzzing, ringing, or other phantom noise in the ears 
• Regularly ask people to repeat what they said 

If you encounter such signs, you must schedule a hearing exam as a priority. 

• The severity of hearing loss

The amount or severity of the hearing loss by hearing tests is measured in decibels. Below are the classifications of the severity of hearing loss:

• Mild(21-45 dB): difficulties in distinguishing soft sounds 
• Moderate(46-60 dB): problems in conversational speech with or without the presence of background noise
• Moderately severe(61-75 dB): tough to hear ordinary speech
• Severe(76-90 dB): not able to hear conversational speech
• profound(91 dB): cannot hear any sound 
• Types of hearing loss 

Typically, an audiogram is conducted during the hearing exam. It indicates whether you have hearing loss or not. Hearing loss can be of different types as listed below: 

• Sensorineural 

Sensorineural is the most common type of hearing loss, and it is caused due to exposure to aging, exposure to loud noise, or ototoxic drugs. Sensorineural is a permanent type of hearing loss resulting from damage to the cochlea’s hair cells. 

• Conductive 

Conductive hearing loss is easily treatable. It is caused when sound cannot make it to the outer or middle of the ear due to wax buildup or infection. 

• Mixed 

Mixed hearing loss is a combination of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. 

• Audiograms 

An audiogram consists of the results of the hearing tests on a charted piece of paper. It can resemble a series of lines and dots. Audiograms are a roadmap of which tones and sounds one can hear and perceive at exact frequencies. Each ear is tested and charted separately, and the same results are recorded in an audiogram. 

• Types of hearing tests 

Hearing tests are a part of the medical exam and are used as pass-fail tests to determine if hearing loss is possible. These tests and screenings are expressed in hertz and decibels. Below are some of the different types of hearing tests:

• Tympanometry 
• Speech discrimination tests 
• Pure-tone audiometry 
• Otoacoustic emission testing