Download Audiological Evaultions

Audiological Evaultions
Sarah Woolford
Basics of Hearing Testing
• Audiometry: The testing and measuring of hearing.
• Audiometers: measures hearing
• Transducers: how sound is delivered from a device to the person being
evaluated.
- Circumaural headphones, supra-aural headphones, inserts (earbuds),
speakers, and bone oscillators
(All definitions provided by class discussions and PowerPoints)
Transducers
Other Terms
•
•
•
•
•
Monaural – Sound in one ear only
Binaural – Sound in both ears simultaneously
Unilateral – One-sided hearing loss
Bilateral – Hearing loss on both sides
If there is no hearing loss, it is referred to as hearing that is “Within Normal
Limits” or “WNL”
(All definitions provided by class discussions and PowerPoints)
What is there to test?
• Air conduction (AC): sound travelling through the outer and middle ear
leading to the inner ear.
• Bone Conduction (BC): sound travelling through the bones of the skull
straight to the inner ear, thereby bypassing the middle and outer ear
Each type of conduction plays a major role in how one hears. And both types
have their own battery of tests to determine how good the conduction is.
(All definitions provided by class discussions and PowerPoints)
Air Conduction Testing
Typically, a standard pure tone test will be administered to determine if air
conduction is WNL. The patient will be tested in a booth and can wear any of
the previously mentioned transducers (with the exception of the bone
oscillator) but circumaural headphones are regularly used. The paitent then will
either response verbally, press a button, or raise a hand when they hear a sound
from the transducer. Pure tone testing can be done monaurally or binaurally,
but standard practice is that one ear will be tested, followed by the other.
(All information provided by class discussions and PowerPoints)
Air Conduction Testing
Measurements: The pure tones are played at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and
8000 hertz for each ear. Other hertz ranges that can be tested are 3000 and
6000 if needed. At any hertz range, the audiologist will be able to see at which
decibel the individual can hear the pure tone.
Purpose for testing: The aim of the testing is to find an individual’s lowest
threshold, meaning the lowest intensity level that a person can accurately hear
the tone. In order to hear the tone accurately, the patient must be able to
response to the tone 2/3 of the times the tone is played.
Bone Conduction Testing
Bone Conduction testing, also, uses pure tones to determines an individual’s
bone conduction. Testing is also done in a booth and once again the patient
response to sounds verbally, pressing a button, or raising a hand when they hear
a sound from the transducer. A major difference is that the only transducer that
can be utilized is the bone oscillator. The bone oscillator is placed behind the
ear and vibrates the skull, transferring sound through the bones of the skull.
(All information provided by class discussions and PowerPoints)
Bone Conduction Testing
Measurements: Bone conduction testing plays pure tones at 500, 1000, 2000,
and 4000 hertz and is done on both sides of the head. At any hertz range, the
audiologist will be able to see at which decibel the individual can hear the pure
tone.
Purpose for testing: Bone conduction testing is used to determine if sound
can be and how well it is transferred via the bones of the skull into the inner
ear.
Pure Tone Average
• The average air conduction threshold value at the 500, 1000, 2000 hertz
levels. This give an overall perspective in someone’s able to determine
speech.
Speech Testing
• SRT – Speech Reception Threshold
The purpose of speech testing is to find the lowest level in which an individual
can repeat an easy, spondee word. A spondee is a two syllable word with equal
stress, i.e. a compound word. The patient can be test with any transducer but
typically not a bone oscillator. This is done monaurally and in both ears. A
patient’s threshold should be within 6 dBs of their PTA (pure tone average) for
both ears.
SPONDEES
Speech Testing
• WRS – Word Recognition Score (a discriminatory score, percentage)
The goal of this test is to see how many words an individual can correctly
repeat a word in an ideal listening environment. By understanding the
percentage of words correctly heard in an ideal listening environment, an
audiologist can better be able to help the patient understand how much he or
she is actually receiving in daily life. The patient is excepted repeat single
syllable words that are heard using any transducer other than a bone oscillator.
This can be tested monaurally, and with noise if so needed. Words can be
spoken or played on a CD.
Visual References
• Slide 3: headphones:
(http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images500x500/Sennheiser_HDA2
80_HDA280_Stereo_Hearing_Test_539203.jpg:
• Slide 3: Ear buds: (http://azbalanceandhearing.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/oae-teoa.png)
• Slide 3: Bone Oscillator: (http://aisforadelaide.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/bone-conductor.jpg)
• Slide 7: Left picture:
(http://www.ushersyndrome.nih.gov/join/images/audiology.jpg)
Visual Reference
• Slide 7: Right Picture: (http://www.linksfieldaudiology.co.za/images/testbooth.jpg)
• Slide 10: Image:
(http://www.hhclinics.com/images/Bone_Conduction_Threshold.jpg)
• Slide 14: Spondee: (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FIpghFvTRo/UYMLUlW3lI/AAAAAAAAAis/i60GDGSXD9g/s1600/Slide6.JPG)