Colorado Springs
Audiology, Inc.
Phone 719.520.1155
Licensed Audiologist
in Colorado
OFFICE HOURS
Mountain Time USA
Mon-Thurs
9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Closed Fridays
© Copyright 2021
| TEST | ABOUT THE TEST | PURPOSE | OUTCOME | ||
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Otomicroscopy |
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External ears and eardrums are examined using a highly illuminated microscope and, if necessary, cleaned. |
Rules out abnormalities of the external ear including the pinna, ear canal, and/or eardrum. |
If significant cerumen is revealed, cerumenectomy using otoloop or lavage is completed. If necessary, patient is referred to ENT. | ||
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Tuning Forks |
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Tuning fork is vibrated and placed at the skull's vertex and around ears and patient asked to respond to questions regarding localization and loudness.
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Yields information about the nature of the hearing loss, differentiating conductive versus sensorineural hearing impairment. | May affect further testing if hearing loss is conductive in nature. | ||
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Tympanometry - objective test of middle ear function |
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Soft probe is inserted into the ear to measure the mobility and flexibility of the eardrum. Does not require a patient's active participation.
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Rules out abnormalities involving the middle ear structures, including the eardrum.
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If middle ear abnormality is determined, medical referral is indicated. | ||
| Acoustic Reflexes - objective test of middle ear & VIIIth nerve function | |||||
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Same probe for tympanometry is inserted along with an earphone to the opposite ear. Test measures does not require a patient's active participation.
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Rules out abnormalities involving the stapedius muscle and/or eighth nerve.
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If reflexes are absent or elevated in either ear, further testing is indicated to rule out other potential medical factors. | ||
| Sound booth testing | |||||
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Adult or child is seated in an 8'x8' soundproof booth, per normal audiometric protocol - using foam-insert or standard earphones. | Testing in a controlled environment guarantees the most accurate and reproducible audiometric evaluation. | Extremely reliable hearing test results, repeatable if measured in another laboratory. | ||
| Speech recognition threshold | |||||
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Patient repeats simple words like "baseball," "hot dog" cupcake, "ice cream," etc. | Establish patient's general level of audibility | Intensity of speech necessary to understand 50%. Used to corroborate air conduction thresholds. | ||
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Air conduction thresholds (adult) |
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Using earphones, patient pushes a button when they hear, barely hear, or think they hear, a sound. | Establishes a patient's hearing threshold at various frequencies through outer, middle, and inner ears; expressed as decibels (dB) hearing loss. | Basic audiogram. Determines type and degree of hearing loss. 0-25dB (normal); 25-40dB (mild loss); 40-70dB (moderate loss); 70-90dB (severe loss); 90dB or worse (profound loss). | ||
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Air conduction (pediatric) |
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For children age two to five, "play audiometry" is used to elicit responses. In play audiometry, children learn to pair hearing tones while playing a game. | "Play audiometry" yields reliable threshold responses, and is mostly used to "screen" hearing ability in cases where a child's speech/language development is delayed. |
PASS SCREENING - no hearing loss
FAILED SCREENING - further testing warranted |
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| Word recognition (speech discrimination) | |||||
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Patient repeats a list of one-syllable words (without the aid of context) like "carve" "bathe" "ace," etc. | Yields a general measure word clarity and expressed as a percentage. | 90-100%->excellent; 80-90%-> fair; 70-80%->poor; <60%0> profoundly impaired. | ||
| Hearing-in-Noise Testing | |||||
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Patient repeats short sentences with competing background noise interference. | Determines patient's level of difficulty while in the presence of background noise. | Affects decisions regarding effective hearing aid management. | ||
| Bone conduction* | |||||
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Using a bone oscillator positioned on the mastoid process, patient pushes a button when they hear a sound. | Bypasses the outer and middle ears, and establishes thresholds exclusively in the inner ear. | The main purpose is to rule out "conductive" hearing loss. | ||
| Acoustic reflexes* | |||||
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A probe is inserted into the ear to measure the presence of absence of the stapedius muscle. | The stapedius muscle normally contracts in response to a loud sound. The test rules out various abnormalities of the ear. |
PRESENT - normal ELEVATED - suspicious of retro-cochlear involvement
ABSENT - abnormal |
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| Comfortable loudness | |||||
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Patient listens to sounds to establish point of most comfortable loudness (MCL) and loudness discomfort level (LDL). | If hearing aids are necessary, this testing assists with setting gain and maximum output limits in the hearing aid circuitry. | Affects decisions regarding effective hearing aid management. | ||
* Conducted when necessary