Medicine Online
Any medical inquiries? Search MOL for answers:
HEALTH TOPICS
Home > Health Topics > Topics beginning with H > Hearing Test > Overview & Description
Medical References
Diseases & Conditions
Women's Health
Mental Health
Men's Health
Medical Web Links
MOL Site Map
Medical Tips
Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
Read more health news

Hearing Test


Overview & Description

A hearing test determines how well a person can hear different sounds.

How is the test performed?

Sounds are transmitted by sound waves that travel through the air and through bone. A hearing test usually determines how well a person hears sounds that are presented to the ear and to the skull bones.

Testing for sounds that travel through the air is done with a person wearing earphones over his or her ears. Pure tones of various frequencies are presented to one ear at a time at controlled volumes. The person being tested is asked to indicate when he or she first hears the sound. The softest sounds that the person can detect are recorded for each frequency. The results are put on a graph and compared to a normal hearing graph, or audiogram.

To test for sounds that travel through the bone, tuning forks of different frequencies are tapped and held against a person's skull. The person being tested is asked to indicate which sounds he or she can detect.


HomeSitemap Contact UsAdvertisingPress RoomGive Us Your FeedbackRead Our Terms & Conditions and Our DisclaimerPrivacy Statement