Top 8 Online Hearing Tests
Posted by CENTURY HEARING
Top 8 Online Hearing Tests
By playing 4 tones at different Hz you can check out if your hearing is good. Do the test in a quiet location.
How good is your hearing? Do this quick test and you will know within 5 minutes.
Simple but yet effective hearing test for young and old at different tone scales. Check out their simulated hearing loss as well.
Designed by PhD engineer and professional sound designer,
Can you hear the world? This hearing test is developed in conjunction with Phonak.
Simple hearing test using a number of questions and sounds.
There are a couple issues with online hearing tests
1. "Audiometers are calibrated to meet federal guidelines", noted Mark Pyle, MD, academic vice chairman of otolaryngology and residency program director at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. This ensures test accuracy nationwide. With an online test, “there is no calibration, there is no soundproof room, there is no masking, there is no control,” Dr. Pyle said. “So we really don’t know what degree of hearing loss they have. Some people may receive devices that are too powerful. They may receive devices that aren’t appropriate.”
Results for a consumer who takes the test with background noise could show hearing loss where there is none, causing the person to buy a hearing aid that isn’t needed.
In addition, headphone quality is not standardized, Nor are Computer Speakers etc. A person with low-quality or malfunctioning headphones could get test results indicating hearing loss that doesn’t exist.
“There’s a reason that we have an audio booth that costs anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 to do hearing tests, and that’s to maintain the accuracy of the hearing tests,” said Todd Hillman, MD, an otolaryngologist at Pittsburgh Ear Associates. “There is not a viable way to do an online hearing test that is accurate or consistent at this point in time.”
2. Online hearing screens cannot tell you the cause of hearing loss — the cause may be something as minor as too much earwax or as serious as a brain tumor.
3. Also, there is no guarantee that those with hearing loss would visit a doctor if their online test results warranted it. Elderly patients, in particular, could think the process is streamlined and smart without realizing that a correctible or medically risky condition could be the cause of their hearing loss.
In some cases, online hearing tests do provide a useful tool for learning about individual hearing loss. In 2008, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden developed on online hearing test that was similar to a clinical pure-tone audiogram. They found that it was an inexpensive way to screen for hearing loss in large populations and was more accurate than questionnaire-based studies. Still, researchers there cautioned that the test shouldn’t replace a clinical pure-tone audiogram conducted by a trained hearing care professional.
Online Hearing Tests can be effective in some cases. Online hearing tests provide a good first step for people concerned that they may have hearing loss. An online hearing test can be used as a screening test - where it is a starting point to get a full diagnostic hearing test.
Handtronix
By playing 4 tones at different Hz you can check out if your hearing is good. Do the test in a quiet location.
Better Hearing Institute
How good is your hearing? Do this quick test and you will know within 5 minutes.
Free Hearing Test
Simple but yet effective hearing test for young and old at different tone scales. Check out their simulated hearing loss as well.
My Hearing Test.Net
Designed by PhD engineer and professional sound designer,
Hear The World
Can you hear the world? This hearing test is developed in conjunction with Phonak.
Starkey Hearing Test
Simple hearing test using a number of questions and sounds.
There are a couple issues with online hearing tests
1. "Audiometers are calibrated to meet federal guidelines", noted Mark Pyle, MD, academic vice chairman of otolaryngology and residency program director at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. This ensures test accuracy nationwide. With an online test, “there is no calibration, there is no soundproof room, there is no masking, there is no control,” Dr. Pyle said. “So we really don’t know what degree of hearing loss they have. Some people may receive devices that are too powerful. They may receive devices that aren’t appropriate.”
Results for a consumer who takes the test with background noise could show hearing loss where there is none, causing the person to buy a hearing aid that isn’t needed.
In addition, headphone quality is not standardized, Nor are Computer Speakers etc. A person with low-quality or malfunctioning headphones could get test results indicating hearing loss that doesn’t exist.
“There’s a reason that we have an audio booth that costs anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 to do hearing tests, and that’s to maintain the accuracy of the hearing tests,” said Todd Hillman, MD, an otolaryngologist at Pittsburgh Ear Associates. “There is not a viable way to do an online hearing test that is accurate or consistent at this point in time.”
2. Online hearing screens cannot tell you the cause of hearing loss — the cause may be something as minor as too much earwax or as serious as a brain tumor.
3. Also, there is no guarantee that those with hearing loss would visit a doctor if their online test results warranted it. Elderly patients, in particular, could think the process is streamlined and smart without realizing that a correctible or medically risky condition could be the cause of their hearing loss.
In some cases, online hearing tests do provide a useful tool for learning about individual hearing loss. In 2008, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden developed on online hearing test that was similar to a clinical pure-tone audiogram. They found that it was an inexpensive way to screen for hearing loss in large populations and was more accurate than questionnaire-based studies. Still, researchers there cautioned that the test shouldn’t replace a clinical pure-tone audiogram conducted by a trained hearing care professional.
Online Hearing Tests can be effective in some cases. Online hearing tests provide a good first step for people concerned that they may have hearing loss. An online hearing test can be used as a screening test - where it is a starting point to get a full diagnostic hearing test.
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