Hearing test and Hearing aids- things you want to know.
Article by Joan Krauth
Hearing is one of the five major sensations that human beings are capable of feeling. It is difficult to imagine what life would be if we could not hear sounds. Unfortunately, there are people who are exempted from hearing ability. They need Hearing test and Hearingaids. Hearing impairments can happen due to several reasons. It could be a birth defect, or an individual may have faced some ailment leading to hearing disability.
One must take hearing disabilities casually. Acting as and when symptoms show up is the right thing to do. A Hearing test and Hearing aids helps a person to properly evaluate his/ her condition. Such a test is performed by an audiologist, with the help of an audiometer. The evaluation examines the level of sensitivity of the sense of hearing in a person. The machine that helps in doing this, an audiometer, determines the intensity of hearing sensitivity at different levels of frequency.
Patients, who are diagnosed with serious hearing loss, are often advised to wear Hearingaids. Hearingtest and Hearingaids are electroacoustic devices that are designed to typically fit into a person’s ear. It is manufactured to modulate or amplify incoming sounds for the person who wears a hearing aid.
There are several types of Hearingtest and Hearingaids. Some of them have been discussed below:
<em>Body-worn Hearing aids -</em> These are the ones that are designed to be worn in any part of the body of a person who has hearing problems. These Hearing aids come with a case and an earmold that is connected to a wire. The case generally comprises of electronic amplifier elements.
<em>Behind the ear -</em> These Hearing test and Hearing aids comprise of a case and an earmold. The case comes with battery, microphones, battery and electronics. These Hearing aids are designed to fit behind the pinna of a person. These aids can be worn for mild as well as profound hearing loss. As the electronic components are situated outside the ear, there are lesser chances of them getting affected by ear wax.
Talking about a Hearing test, Weber test does come into the scene. It is basically a quick screening test. It is capable of detecting one-sided, that is, unilateral conductive hearing loss. It can also evaluate sensorineural hearing loss. The test involves a vibrating tuning fork of 256 or 512 Hz. The fork is positioned in the middle of chin, head or forehead, equidistant from the patient’s ears. The person is asked to report the test-taker to report when the sound is heard louder. Normally, people can hear sound with equal intensity in both the ears. A person, who has hearing disability, will not be able to hear the sound with both the ears.
Another popular Hearing test and Hearing aids is the Rinne test. This test helps in comparing the way sounds in air are perceived by each ear. This test includes conduction of air through the mastoid. This test helps in quickly evaluation the presence of conductive hearing disability. This test involves a vibrating tuning fork that is kept against the mastoid bone of the patient. The patient is supposed to inform the test-taker when the sound is inaudible.
About the Author
Visit : Hearing aids
