The ears are the external hearing organs for human beings. In the inner ear, one finds the various mechanisms of the hearing system that transmit the vibrations created by sound into electrical impulses. These electrical impulses are sent to the brain where they are processed. This is a continuous process that happens throughout the life of an individual. A person suffering from hearing loss or deficiency may have one or more problems associated with the ears. The first possibility is that of a physical blockage of the ear. An example of this is the excessive buildup of wax.
Another possible cause of hearing loss is damage to the tympanic membrane or the small bones that make up the inner ear. The nerves carrying the electrical signal to the brain could be damaged resulting in diminished hearing. Finally, the part of the brain associated with hearing might be damaged which also results in deafness. A hearing test is conducted to analyze a person’s ability to perceive sounds. The test can establish the response of a person to various different frequencies of sound and various different volumes of sound. Most people who have hearing tests have a partially reduced sense of hearing. A hearing test will allow this to be quantified to an extent.
The common hearing test for adults is the audiometer based test. This test requires the cooperation of the subject. The subject is placed in a sound proof room. In this room a pair of headphones is placed over the subject’s ears. Each headphone then emits different sounds at different frequencies. The response of the subject to each sound will be noted. As the sounds are being played, they are simultaneously being plotted on a graph. At the end of the test, the hearing of the subject will be plotted along the entire spectrum of sounds.
The audiometer test for hearing is a relatively accurate test, but the one main failing is the cooperation of the subject. If, for some reason, the subject does not respond to a sound even if that sound is heard, it will be concluded that that sound is outside the hearing range of the subject. However, this failing is also possible using other testing methods as well. The advanced hearing test involves the use of a tuning fork which could be used to determine the type of hearing loss that is being experienced by a patient.