By Rebecca M. Lewis, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A
Online hearing tests, or tests you take yourself using a computer or smartphone, are becoming more prevalent and popular, especially alongside the market for “hearables” (smart wireless earbuds). With over-the-counter hearing aids set to become available soon, these tests that can be convenient to take at home are likely to proliferate even more.
Here’s what to know if you are considering an online hearing test.
Self-hearing tests offer a first step toward getting a professional in-person evaluation, but they can also be difficult to interpret because of the variability in equipment and testing conditions. Because of this, and given their convenience and availability, they are best used in a couple of ways:
Comparing hearing status between two different people
Let's say that I'm interested in learning about my dad’s hearing status. As an audiologist, I know what my current thresholds are and can take the same self-hearing test along with my dad to compare our results. If I have typical hearing thresholds and I see that my dad’s results from the self-hearing test are similar to mine, then I can conclude that his hearing is also typical. If I have typical hearing thresholds and my dad’s results are different (e.g., worse), then I can conclude that he has decreased hearing abilities and would want to schedule a full in-person exam.
Monitoring one person’s hearing status over time
Let’s say that I want to keep tabs on my hearing, which I expect will either decline as I get older (more common) or may fluctuate due to some hearing condition like Ménière's disease (less common). I could use a self-hearing test to determine a baseline and compare my own results to that baseline over time to guide me in whether I want to seek a full professional exam. Extra credit for this one would be to get a full evaluation first—and conduct a self-hearing test that same day to compare results and monitor your own hearing over time.
Changes to the method of the self-hearing test can affect results. Because of this variability, it’s recommended to keep the conditions the same as much as possible, such as using a phone each time versus a computer (or vice versa, so long as it’s consistent), using the same headphones, taking the test in the same location/room, and perhaps even taking it at the same time of day to account for routine noise differences.
There are also different types of self-hearing tests: Some try to copy the audiogram (by measuring thresholds, which is more susceptible to background noise and differences in technology used), while other tests forego thresholds and measure speech in noise, which is more representative of auditory functioning as a whole.
And Remember
Besides telling you how much hearing loss you have, an in-person appointment with an audiologist will include checking eardrum movement, acoustic reflexes, and a number of other things that can determine if there’s a medical reason for the hearing loss, and if it is medically/surgically treatable. These are things that an online test or smartphone app cannot do. But if you keep the limitations of self-hearing tests in mind, they can still act as an easily accessible, initial evaluation of your hearing.
Rebecca M. Lewis, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A, is a research audiologist and postdoctoral research fellow with the Geneva Foundation located at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Maryland.
