Q&A

Subject: Hearing tests

From: JM

How can I detect if I can hear high-frequency sounds without the use of expensive equipment and getting a hearing test, basically doing it on my own? Also, is having the volume of the TV high necessarily a sign of hearing problems? If I do have a problem with the hearing of high frequency sounds, what can I do to improve my hearing to hear those sounds? JM

You should get a hearing test done by an audiologist. The audiologist will have the necessary sound proof room and calibrated equipment. A simple pure tone hearing test should not be expensive (much less than $100). Many insurance plans will pay for hearing tests. It would be very hard to build your own testing setup and get it calibrated so that the tests could be compared with normal ears.

Answer the questions on our "on-line hearing test". Your answers may tell you enough to let you know if you have a hearing problem.

Having the volume of the TV high usually is a symptom of hearing loss. The problem may not be the ability to hear quiet sounds, it might be that the ear hears distorted sound.

Hearing aids will help most people with mild hearing loss. You should make sure that the problem is not medically correctable before you consider hearing aids. Perhaps you just have wax in your ears, or perhaps there is something wrong with the middle ear that a doctor could fix.

Solveig