Hearing loss care (audiology)

Audiologic assessment

A basic hearing test that shows how well you can hear sounds and recognize words at different levels and frequencies. > Learn more

Auditory brainstem response (ABR)

Measures how well your auditory nerve transmits signals from the inner ear to the brain where the signals are interpreted. You’ll have electrodes placed behind the earlobes and on the forehead and will then listen through earphones for sounds.

Computerized tomography scan (CT)

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)

A test that measures activity in your inner ear. You’ll have electrodes placed behind the earlobes, on the forehead, and in your ear canal. You will then listen through earphones for sounds.

Newborn hearing screening and follow-up assessment

Physical and behavioral tests used by hearing specialists to screen newborns for hearing loss. If a newborn fails the initial screening, follow-up tests are ordered.

Otoacoustic emissions test (OAE)

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.