Online Hearing Check
Across America Hearing Check Challenge
Introduction
Almost 35 million people in the U.S. know they can't hear as well as they once did. Yet half of them have never had their hearing professionally tested.
The truth is, untreated hearing loss interferes with virtually every aspect of a person's life-both personally and professionally. When ignored and left unaddressed, hearing loss can lead to impaired memory; difficulty in learning new tasks; reduced alertness; increased risk to personal safety; irritability; negativism; anger; fatigue; tension; stress; depression; isolation; withdrawal; and diminished psychological and overall health..Simply, when you choose to ignore your hearing loss, you are choosing a dramatic loss in your quality of life. For the vast majority of people, it is not a conscious choice.
To help people understand the serious impact that hearing loss can have on their lives, the Better Hearing Institute has developed and validated a simple 15-item online test that individuals can take in the privacy and comfort of their own home. The test is designed to help people better understand just how serious their hearing loss is, and to determine whether or not they need further help.
The following online hearing check lets you quickly assess your need for an objective hearing test by a hearing health professional and consultation on possible solutions to your hearing problem (such as hearing aids).
This hearing check is based on the Revised American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) five-minute hearing check. In a 2010 Better Hearing Institute study of 11,000 people with hearing loss, this online hearing check was shown to be related to:
- real measures (objective) of hearing loss using audiological equipment
- self and family evaluations of hearing loss (subjective)
- impact of hearing loss on quality of life based on ratings by people with hearing loss
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In step #1 You will be asked to respond to 15 questions about your hearing. They will be presented to you one at a time. Please understand that your responses are confidential. The Better Hearing Institute does not ask anything about your identity.
In step #2 The computer will score your test. It will compare your responses to 11,000 people with hearing loss and produce a personalized evaluation of your hearing. These results are for your eyes only. But if you choose, you may share it with your family members, physician or a hearing health professional.
Please realize that this online hearing check is not equivalent to a professional hearing test performed by a hearing health professional. It is meant to help you assess whether or not you should see a hearing health professional. If, for any reason, you feel you are suffering from hearing loss that needs to be addressed, consult your family doctor, an ear-nose-throat physician, or a hearing health professional (audiologist or hearing instrument specialist).
Instructions – Step #1
With respect to your hearing, please think about your experiences in each of the following situations WITHOUT the use of hearing aids or other devices meant to help you hear better. For each item, indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree by selecting one number with your mouse.
Online Hearing Test Results
Congratulations! You have taken the first step toward Discovering a World of Better Hearing.
SUMMARY
Your hearing loss would be described as .
DETAIL REPORT
Your Test Score: You scored out of a possible 60 points. The remainder of this report will tell you what your score means.
Your Test Norm: Your score of is at the percentile of people with hearing loss in the United States, where low percentages mean lower hearing losses and high percentages mean more serious hearing losses compared to other people with hearing loss.
Predicted Hearing Loss: Objective hearing loss is measured in what is called decibels (dB). This is a unit of measure that indicates the extent of your hearing loss as defined by the field of audiology. Perhaps it is first best to consider the relative intensity of some sounds in decibels to understand this measure. Here are some everyday sounds and their measured intensity in decibels (dB): whisper (10 dB), light rain or faucet dripping (20-30 dB), rustling of leaves (40 dB), normal conversation (50 dB), singing birds (60 dB), air conditioner (80 dB), MP3 player (100 dB). If your results, for example, show a dB loss of 35, that means you will not be able to hear any sounds below your hearing loss, such as whispers or the rustling of leaves. But it also means that you will have extreme difficulty in understanding sounds in a range close to your dB loss, such as normal conversation at 50 dB.
Your predicted hearing loss in your better ear in the speech range (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) is dB, while your predicted hearing loss in both ears at five key frequency ranges (500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz) is dB. The chances that you have a significant hearing loss (defined as 40 dB or higher) is estimated at percent.
Subjective Hearing Loss Description: Based on the responses of more than 10,000 people with hearing loss and their family members, they would describe your hearing loss as .
What Your Hearing Loss Means for Your Quality of Life: Research has shown that the higher your predicted hearing loss, the more likely the following quality-of-life factors may be negatively affected:
- irritability, negativism and anger
- fatigue, tension, stress and depression
- avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
- social rejection and loneliness
- reduced alertness and increased risk of personal safety
- impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
- reduced job performance and earning power
- diminished psychological and overall health
What should you do next? Based on your score, we recommend . Now hearing loss is situational, and the next step you take is dependent on your need to hear in various listening situations. Some people can live with mild hearing losses. Others, such as teachers and therapists whose auditory skills are very important for their everyday work, require corrective technology — such as hearing aids — even when their hearing loss is at mild levels. It becomes important for them to do something about their hearing loss so they can function adequately in their work environment.
Good luck in your journey toward better hearing.
You should hear what you are missing!
References:
To review the study this report is based on visit:
http://www.betterhearing.org/publications/online_hearing/index.cfm
To review research on hearing loss and quality of life visit:
http://www.betterhearing.org/aural_education_and_counseling/articles_tip_sheets_and_guides/hearing_loss_treatment/quality_of_life_detail.cfm as well as the following publication conducted by the National Council on the Aging (NCOA)
http://www.betterhearing.org/pdfs/Hearing_aids_and_quality_of_life_NCOA.pdf
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