If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing or are curious about your hearing health, you might think of getting a traditional hearing test. However, many audiologists now offer online hearing tests, allowing you to understand your hearing from the comfort of your home, which could give you tools as you head into a traditional consultation. Nearly 28.8 million Americans could benefit from using hearing aids but may not know if they’ve never considered taking a hearing test. Here’s what you need to know about these tests and why they might be beneficial for you.
How Online Hearing Tests Work
Online hearing tests provide a preliminary evaluation of your hearing abilities. These tests generally measure your ability to hear different tones or speech amid varying levels of background noise. While they aren’t as thorough as an in-person examination, they can help you identify possible hearing problems. Online hearing tests should come with validated results and clear instructions on how to perform them.
There are two common types of online hearing tests you might encounter:
- Speech-in-Noise Tests: This test evaluates your ability to comprehend speech with background noise. This is especially important since real-life hearing difficulties often involve distinguishing speech from surrounding noise. The test will play sentences or words at various volumes against background sounds, and you’ll be asked to repeat what you hear.
- Pure-Tone Tests: This test involves listening to a series of tones at different frequencies and volumes. You’ll need to indicate when you can hear a tone, which helps assess your hearing sensitivity at different pitches. This test is similar to what you might experience during an in-office hearing examination.
Making Use of Your Online Hearing Test Results
While online hearing tests are convenient and can give you valuable insights, they are not a substitute for a comprehensive hearing evaluation by an audiologist. The results from an online test should be considered a starting point. If the test suggests potential hearing loss, or if you’ve been experiencing symptoms like difficulty hearing conversations, ringing in the ears, or frequently asking others to repeat themselves in places like a local coffee shop, it might be time to book an in-person hearing test.
Here’s how you can use the information from an online hearing test:
- Early detection: Online tests can help you detect early signs of hearing loss, which might otherwise go unnoticed. Early detection is crucial because untreated hearing loss can worsen over time.
- Preparation for your appointment: If the online test indicates hearing difficulties, you’ll be better prepared to discuss your concerns with an audiologist. You can share your test results, describe your symptoms, and ask specific questions about your hearing health.
- Determining next steps: Based on the results of the online test, you might decide to monitor your hearing or take immediate action by scheduling an appointment with an audiologist. The audiologist can perform a full audiogram and provide a detailed diagnosis and treatment options if needed.
Online hearing tests are a useful tool for evaluating your hearing health, providing a quick and easy way to determine if you might have hearing loss. If you’ve been curious about your hearing health, it can be an excellent first step toward scheduling a professional consultation.
To take an online hearing test, visit San Francisco Audiology website, and then contact us with the results to schedule a consultation.