Do online tests work?
They work better than you would think.
This is my hearing test when I started this expedition into my Tinnitus and then OTC hearing aids . The Audiologist charged around $200 and the ENT charged about $400. The Doctor (ENT) told me there was nothing I could do about my Tinnitus, but they could fix me up fine for $6,500 with hearing aids. I was told that I could help battle off Dementia with hearing aids! Quite a scary pivot! dementia caused by hearing loss?
My hearing
My hearing results show a moderate hearing loss with a PTA (Pure Tone Average) of 35 in the right ear and 30 in the left ear. However my hearing falls dramatically after 2000 Hz (frequency)
3 years later
PTA scale
- Mild – is a Hearing PTA number of 25-40
- Moderate -is a hearing number of 41-60
- Severe – is a Hearing Number of 61 – 80
Johns Hopkins derived this scale which is the average of the frequency notes in Hertz – and volume . These tests are to find out at what is the lowest volume you hear the tone – that is the score. (you hold a button or tell the Audiologist when you hear/don’t hear the tone) the low tones are 125 Hz and the high tones are 12000 Hz. The volumes dB are from 0-120. Most males loose hearing in the high tone range earlier. The audiologist tested eight frequencies and took the average of only the three or four of the lower ones to get the PTA in each ear. Most hearing aids only amplify tones between 500-5,000 Hz. Over 6,000 Hz is very difficult to amplify and maintain speech hearing. This is only done for the severe hearing loss.
Speech Reception/Awareness Threshold-
25 db (SRT) or better is normal – I had right – 30 and left 25 – so slightly worse than normal.
3 years later R-41, L-31 I consider this exam to be a more thorough exam done by Dr.Dizzy (more on him to follow). still in mild hearing loss range.
http://dizzy-doc.com/cv/hain.html
Word Recognition –
I had right ear at 100% and left at 100% at 65 dB – so at that volume, I had 100% recognition.
Online Hearing Tests
I have taken many online tests in my quest to find a reasonably priced hearing aid/device/OTC hearing aid. I have taken dozens online, mostly with the Apple AirPods Pro – unaided. AirPods Pro tests are from third party MIMI and SonicCloud. Both of these automatically download the results to Apple Health (more about AirPods Pro later).Don’t shade me – I’m Hard of Hearing – Apple Ashamed? Each Hearing device seller online has some sort of hearing tests you can take for free. Some of the OTC devices refer you to their own (referral) audiologist or other such services. There are some “referral” Hearing aid sellers like Hearing.com who work in the professional fields and act as a clearing house . Here is AARP’s free hearing test.https://www.nationalhearingtest.org/wordpress/?page_id=2730
When you search online for OTC hearing aids, almost all sites will offer a “Hearing Test” for you to determine wether you need their product. Some of them are fun, some seem to be a waist of time, some are just a come-on. I have passed with normal hearing to moderate/severe hearing loss. A couple of tests just preformed speech recognition with words being spoken with different background noise and volumes.
With online tests you are typically asked to put on earphones or ear buds and listen to tones. You push a button or slider until you cannot hear the tone. This is repeated 3-8 times in each ear. Typically the clear tones are at:
Hz
- 250
- 500
- 1000
- 2000
- 3000
- 6000
- 8000
- 10000
Humans can hear between 20Hz and 20,000 Hz, but amplification can’t usually be done above 6,000 Hz without damage. The lowest key on a piano is 30Hz while the highest is 4,000 Hz
You can suffer hearing damage from both high frequency sounds and overly loud sounds. Higher amplification of higher tones can interfere with speech recognition.
Hertz (Hz)is a unit of frequency of change in state or cycle in a sound wave, alternating current, or other cyclical waveform of one cycle per second. Think of it as off-on – 3,000 Hz is three thousand wave cycles (off-on) per second. Your ear picks up these vibrations and your brain translates it to sounds. Of course the medical world has a much more detailed explanation of hearing.
Age and hearing
The prevalence of hearing loss increased with age at all frequencies for both men and women. Among participants aged 60 – 69, 42.7% had a hearing loss at 3000 Hz, 54.3% at 4000 Hz and 79.5% at 6000 Hz. Among the participants 70 years or older, the figures were 70.7% at 3000 Hz, 78.4% at 4000 Hz and 93.2% at 6000 Hz.Oct 12, 2021
Audiologists
Audiologists and online tests take your score (Hz where you can’t hear the pure tone anymore) and take the average to get your Pure Tone Average (PTA). Typically they test for 4-8 of the frequencies. These individual scores are eventually used to adjust your Hearing Aids volume in the Tones you are deficient in . Thus, if you can’t hear the high tones like me, the volume of the hearing aid would be adjusted to compensate to a normal level. My OTC adjusted AirPods Pro took me from a PTA score of 50 to a score of 28 using all 8 scores. My scores went from a high moderate hearing loss to a low mild – almost normal – level. The AirPods worked well adjusting my hearing.
I imagine well-fit and adjusted hearing aids would do slightly better, but not much better. And certainly not $6,250 better.
OTC hearing tests and results
My experience with the online tests is that you have to make sure your earphones/buds are properly worn, and you get better each time you take the tests. Better means that you get more skilled at adjusting the slider/button each time you take the test. Taking these test 2 or three times typically takes no more than 1/2 hour and is relatively simple. These tests are probably also a good prediction as to wether you have the technical aptitude to adjust your own hearing aids, which you must do when you get your OTC device. There will be a whole new area of business to adjust the OTC aids for folks who are not technically savvy enough to adjust them themselves., I envision that stores who sell these devices – like Best Buy or Walmart or Walgreens will provide programing/adjustment services for a price point around $100 or will provide that service under their warranty programs.
Almost all of the current OTC devices have online or telephone support to help users adjust their devices. Most of the OTC online hearing tests are set up to draw the user into their websites and garner information to sell you Hearing Aids/devices.
My Jabra OTC (self fitting) test
Jabra select 200 is $1995, 100 is 1595. Jabra is owned by GN Audio – one of the big 5 Hearing aid makers. These current models are their top of the line OTC offerings. Below are the results of my online Jabra test. As you can see, they are very similar to my other results and they do promise me to return my hearing to Healthy Hearing.
Here are my Jabra Scores
Do I think that online testing is as good as a Audiologist? – absolutely not – but I think this industry does not necessarily deal with precision . My experience has been that I test very closely to my big Hospital Audiologist’s results with Apple’s third party online tests and Jabra’s. As OTC hearing aids become more prevalent, These online tests will get better and programing the OTC hearing aids will get easier.
Free Test (paid for my Medicare or Health Plans)
Bottom line is that Medicare will pay for at least one hearing exam per year, so why not take it from a professional? You do not need a prescription to go to an Audiologist (don’t just walk in, get an appointment). However,whatever you do, – do not purchase hearing aids or OTC aids from the Audiologist without studying, studying, studying the market and matching the product with your needs.
