Hearing Test Types and Why They Matter

When it comes to your hearing health, you may see information about both hearing quizzes and hearing tests. While both are valuable assessment tools, they serve different purposes and provide different types of results.

The first thing to know: unless you’re with a professional hearing care provider, you’re taking a hearing quiz. That said, quizzes can give you insightful information about your hearing.

In this article, we’ll look at both quizzes and tests to help you make informed decisions about your hearing health. Plus, we’ll go into the different types of hearing tests so you know what to expect at your hearing health appointment! 

An online hearing quiz, sometimes aptly titled a “Do I have hearing loss quiz,” or a “Am I Losing My Hearing?” quiz is typically a preliminary self-assessment designed to illuminate whether you might be experiencing hearing issues that warrant further evaluation.

Some quizzes involve questions about your daily experiences, such as:

• Do you struggle to hear in noisy environments?
• Do people often seem to be mumbling when they speak?
• Do you find yourself frequently turning up the volume on the TV?

Key features of an online hearing quiz:

• You can take it at home, at your convenience.
• You’ll get immediate results, often indicating whether you should see a hearing care professional for a more in-depth assessment.

Some quizzes use sound-based scenarios to evaluate your hearing ability. These often simulate hearing various tones or speech in different environments, measuring how well you hear at different frequencies and volumes.

This can provide valuable insights into whether you’re experiencing hearing loss and to what degree. However, it’s important to note that online tools do not replace professional diagnostic tests from a licensed hearing health care professional; they can’t account for all variables that can affect hearing.

1. Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Testing. OAE testing evaluates the function of the hair cells in the inner ear. Healthy hair cells produce low-level sounds, or otoacoustic emissions, in response to sound stimuli. In this test:

• A small probe is placed in the ear to deliver a series of sounds to measure the ear’s response.

If no emissions are detected, it might mean there’s hearing loss due to damaged hair cells. OAE testing is particularly useful for testing infants and those who may have difficulty participating in traditional hearing tests. This test is often done in the hospital after the infant is born.