It is much more difficult to test the hearing of non-cooperative patients, such as young children, who should receive assistive listening devices as soon as possible if they are to achieve normal speech development. Objective hearing tests are also important for making expert assessments, which must state fairly and objectively how an accident, working in a noisy environment or other circumstances may have damaged a person’s hearing. This necessitates objective audiometry, which is based on the measurement of reactions in a patient’s ear after stimulation with one or more tones. The results are analysed by an experienced audiologist.

The middle and inner ear are first tested using objective measures. Impedance audiometry is an important tool: this involves testing the eardrum, the ventilation of the middle ear, middle ear effusion (i.e. fluid build-up), and the function of the ossicular chain. Another important tool is otoacoustic emissions measurement, which investigates the function of both the middle and inner ear.

The way in which sound travels as far as the auditory cortex can be tested using electrical reaction audiometry. This can be done using various methods. One problem is (still) unsolved: frequency-specificity, i. e. differentiating at which frequencies there is a hearing loss. However, the methods available make it possible to test where the hearing loss is located and how serious it is. There are some approaches to achieving frequency-specificity, but these (still) require measurement over long durations and deliver less accuracy. This is therefore the subject of international research. One promising approach here is Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR).

It is much more difficult to test the hearing of non-cooperative patients, such as young children, who should receive assistive listening devices as soon as possible if they are to achieve normal speech development. Objective hearing tests are also important for making expert assessments, which must state fairly and objectively how an accident, working in a noisy environment or other circumstances may have damaged a person’s hearing. This necessitates objective audiometry, which is based on the measurement of reactions in a patient’s ear after stimulation with one or more tones. The results are analysed by an experienced audiologist.

The middle and inner ear are first tested using objective measures. Impedance audiometry is an important tool: this involves testing the eardrum, the ventilation of the middle ear, middle ear effusion (i.e. fluid build-up), and the function of the ossicular chain. Another important tool is otoacoustic emissions measurement, which investigates the function of both the middle and inner ear.

The way in which sound travels as far as the auditory cortex can be tested using electrical reaction audiometry. This can be done using various methods. One problem is (still) unsolved: frequency-specificity, i. e. differentiating at which frequencies there is a hearing loss. However, the methods available make it possible to test where the hearing loss is located and how serious it is. There are some approaches to achieving frequency-specificity, but these (still) require measurement over long durations and deliver less accuracy. This is therefore the subject of international research. One promising approach here is Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR).