Hearing tests are an insightful way to assess your hearing loss. There are many different types of hearing tests, all of which have their own function in determining the severity, type and cause of your personal hearing loss. One such test is called the speech-in-noise test.
What Happens During a Speech-In-Noise Test?
Your audiologist will give you a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and you’ll sit in a soundproof room. Audio recordings of people talking in background noise will play through the headphones, and you’ll repeat what you heard back to the audiologist. There will be a few different recordings, with different volume levels and pitches of speech and background noise. For example, one recording might sound a lot like listening to a friend tell a story in a crowded coffee shop.
What Does a Speech-In-Noise Test Assess?
Speech-in-noise tests help determine your listening comprehension and your ability to hear in the midst of background noise. It essentially gauges how efficiently your ear and brain are working together to make you hear sounds. Speech-in-noise testing can also help uncover hidden hearing loss, a type of hearing loss in which the hearing threshold comes back in the healthy hearing range, but the patient struggles to hear in noisy environments.
If you’re already a hearing aid user, a speech-in-noise test can help you and your audiologist evaluate how effective your hearing aids are in amplifying speech and processing sounds in environments with lots of background noise. Then, your audiologist can create a customized listening program for high-background noise environments that meet your hearing aid needs.
Why Are Speech-In-Noise Tests Valuable?
For many people with hearing loss, noisy environments are the most challenging, as background noise can overwhelm their already taxed auditory processing system. However, a classic hearing test will not reflect this difficulty, as it only assesses your hearing threshold (that is, the softest volume at which you can hear pitches). A speech-in-noise test simulates that complex listening environment to get a more realistic picture of what hearing loss looks like for you in your daily life.
If you’re interested in a hearing test or have any questions about how a speech-in-noise test might be informative for your hearing needs, contact Southwestern Hearing & Balance today. We’re happy to be on your hearing journey with you and are available to answer any questions.