| With the increasing accessibility of the Internet, and the | | | | carefully calibrated audiometer,or standard testing |
| remarkable improvement in the quality of computer | | | | conditions, its results may vary considerably, when |
| audio systems, online hearing tests are fast becoming | | | | compared with those of a standard audiogram. |
| popular in the general public as a preliminary screening | | | | In order to reduce this variation, certain precautions are |
| test. | | | | necessary. You should try and minimize the ambient |
| In spite of this, the million dollar question remains: Are | | | | noise in the testing room, and maximize the probability |
| Online Hearing Tests fake? | | | | of using a reference listener who has a normal hearing |
| These tests have been so designed as to perform | | | | (try using a young healthy adult for the biological |
| self-administrated listening comparisons over the | | | | calibration of your Online Hearing Test). Also, make |
| Internet in order to assess an individual’s hearing | | | | sure that your audio system has good acoustics with |
| function. | | | | minimal distortion of sound, in fact using close fittings |
| Part 1 of the test, comprises the establishment of the | | | | headphones for the test is highly recommended. |
| reference for the specific computer audio system, by | | | | These tests do not claim to replace the more |
| measuring the hearing threshold of a normal listener. | | | | accurate traditional auditory assessments which are |
| This is the biological calibration of the sound system. In | | | | performed by qualified hearing care professionals as |
| the second part of the test, the threshold of the | | | | part of the specific clinical check up. |
| individual with suspected hearing loss is plotted against | | | | Online hearing tests are an effective screening tool |
| the same settings as for the reference established in | | | | and can provide a quick hearing estimate within the |
| Part 1. The threshold differences between the two are | | | | confines of their homes. The designers of these tests |
| an index of the amount of hearing loss of the testing | | | | urge all users to visit the offices of their local hearing |
| subject. | | | | care professional in case the tests show an aberrant |
| The results of Online-Hearing Tests are more | | | | result. |
| susceptible to errors in comparison to standard | | | | In spite of the fact that the actual sound level and |
| audiograms for various reasons. First and foremost, is | | | | spectral purity that determine the estimation of |
| the fact that the test Is not administrated by a hearing | | | | thresholds depend on the frequency response of your |
| care professional with experience in assessing its | | | | computer, Online Hearing tests may not be labeled as |
| results. The other variables that affect its precision | | | | fake. It must be kept in mind that the results of Online |
| include the variations in the ambient noise level of the | | | | Hearing tests may not be used as definitive clinical |
| location of the test, variations in the hearing level of the | | | | data, but all they provide is an approximate result. |
| normal test reference, and variations in the quality of | | | | There primary purpose is to motivate the subject to |
| the audio systems from computer to computer. | | | | approach an audiologist for further assessment |
| Given that the Online Hearing Test Does not use a | | | | regarding the potential benefits of amplification. |