Hearing Loss Tests & Treatments at University of Colorado Hospital
Tests for Hearing Loss
Audiologic Assessment
A basic hearing test shows you well you can hear sounds of different levels and frequencies. The test also shows your ability to recognize words at different sound levels.
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
The ABR test measures how well your auditory nerve transmits signals from the inner ear to the brain, where the signals are interpreted. You will have electrodes placed behind the earlobes and on the forehead, and will then listen through earphones for sounds.
Computerized Tomography (CT) Scan
Your doctor may order X-ray pictures of the temporal bones at the base of your skull. These bones protect the organs that control your hearing and balance.
Electrocochleography (ECoG)
The ECoG test measures activity in your inner ear. As with the ABR test, you will have electrodes placed behind the earlobes and on the forehead, but another will be placed in your ear canal. You will then listen through earphones for sounds.
Newborn Hearing Screening and Follow-up Assessment
Hearing specialists use physical and behavioral tests to screen newborns for hearing loss. If a newborn fails the initial screening, follow-up tests are ordered.
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)
This test measures sounds that the ear itself produces when tiny hair cells on the cochlea are stimulated. A probe with a sound-generating loudspeaker is placed in the ear canal. A microphone in the probe captures the sounds emitted from the cochlea. Low levels of otoacoustic emissions indicate hearing loss.
Treatments for Hearing Loss
Hearing Aids
If you have some ability to hear, you may receive a hearing aid, an electronic device that amplifies sounds. The type of hearing aid you receive will depend on the type and degree of your hearing loss, as well as the shape of your ear.
Assistive Listening Technology
Technologies such as FM systems and telephone amplifying systems can further improve your hearing. These devices help you to tune out background noise and improve your ability to hear spoken words.
Cochlear Implants
A cochlear implant is a device, surgically placed in the inner ear (cochlea), that electrically stimulates the auditory nerve. This helps the ear to transmit sounds as nerve impulses to the brain. If you have severe hearing loss in both ears and are getting limited help from hearing aids, you may be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
Medical and Surgical Specialty Care of the Ear
Conditions in the ear and other parts of the body may require medical and/or surgical treatment. These include:
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Ear infections
- Eardrum perforations
- Facial paralysis
- Cholesteatoma (growths in the middle ear, which transmits sound to the inner ear)
- Acoustic neuroma (growths in nerves in the inner ear)
Your doctor may laser or other kinds of surgery to treat these conditions.
Speech-Language Therapy
Hearing loss can affect your ability to speak and to understand language. Children and adults with hearing loss are often referred to speech-language pathologists. These specialists assess and treat the communication problems.