An audiogram test is a hearing test conducted to measure the sensitivity of hearing in an individual and the severity and type of hearing loss if any. The test is medically known as Pure Tone Audiometry and is considered the best when it comes to testing hearing abilities.
What is an audiogram?
An audiogram is a graphical representation that displays the results returned by an audiogram test. The graph indicates how loud every frequency should be for the patient to hear them. The interpretation of an audiogram by an audiologist reveals the degree and type of hearing loss.
How is an Audiogram test conducted?
The test is carried out in a soundproof room, wherein the audiologist will use an instrument called an audiometer to emit a series of sounds having varying frequencies & volumes. The individual taking the test has to listen to these sounds by putting earphones or speakers on. The earphones or the speakers are connected to the audiometer.
The audiologist will instruct the individual to raise his or her hand or press a button upon hearing a sound. The audiometer records the lowest sound level that the person can hear at different frequencies.
Another test, known as Speech Audiometry is often conducted alongside Pure Tone Audiometry. In the case of Speed Audiometry, the audiologist presents speech signals instead of sound tones. There are two types of speech audiometry tests conducted.
While one of the two tests measures the speech level at which the individual can identify the presence of speech sounds, the other one will measure the level at which the person can understand the speech clearly.
The Type of Hearing Loss than can Audiogram Test can detect
An audiogram test involves both bone conduction testing and air conduction testing. While in the case of bone conduction testing, the signals travel through the ear bones, through the bone oscillator into the inner ear, in case of air conduction testing, the sound vibrations will travel through the air into the inner ear.
To put it differently, an audiogram test determines if only the air conduction path or the bone conduction path or both are affected, causing conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, or mixed hearing loss.
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