II. Indication
- Hearing Loss Screening or Diagnosis
III. History
- See Hearing Loss
- See Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly
- Self Assessment of Communication
IV. Exam
- See Audiogram
- See Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly
- See Hearing Loss
- Ear exam (perform before Audiogram)
- Confirm a patent external auditory canal
- Confirm an intact Tympanic Membrane
- Speech Recognition
- See Hearing Impairment Severity Scale
- Speech Reception Threshold (SRT)
- Decibel level at which 50% of words understood
- Speech Recognition Score (SRS)
- Percentage words understood at 40 db over SRT
-
Whispered Voice Testing
- Typically limited to DOT Physical
- Patient occludes opposite ear
- Examiner whispers questions or commands
- Patient answers or follows commands
- Avoid testing with finger snapping or ticking watch
- Not accurate for Hearing Testing
V. Diagnostics: Self-Screening Hearing Testing
- HearWho
- Mimi Hearing Test
- HearTest
- HearScreen
- Other Resources and associated evidence
- uHear
- Lack of accuracy outside a sound proof booth
- Bunnag (2022) Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol 8(1):253-261 +PMID: 36846435 [PubMed]
- Digits in Noise Test
- uHear
VI. Diagnostics: Office Based Testing
-
General
- Audiometry devices are recommended for calibration each year (ANSI)
- Non-Audiology Screening Audiogram
- Pure tone audiometer screening
- Audioscope (Welch-Allyn)
- Shoebox Audiometry
- Audiology Comprehensive Hearing evaluation
- See Audiometry
VII. Management
- See Hearing Loss
- See Hearing Aid
- Audiology referral
- Covered by Medicare without referral once yearly (patient self-referral is allowed)
- Hearing Aid management, however, does require a referral