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Audiometry is a hearing test used to assess a person's ability to interpret sounds and words, allowing for the detection of important hearing disorders, especially in people who work in very noisy environments.
There are two main types of audiometry exam: tonal and vocal. The tonal allows to know the range of frequencies that the person can hear, while the vocal focuses more on the ability to understand certain words.
This exam should be performed in a special cabin, isolated from noise, lasts about 30 minutes, does not cause pain and is usually performed by a speech therapist.
Main types of audiometry
There are two main types of audiometry, which are:
1. Tonal Audiometry
Tonal audiometry is a test that evaluates a person's hearing capacity, allowing the determination of their lower and upper auditory thresholds, in a frequency spectrum that varies between 125 and 8000 Hz.
The auditory threshold is the minimum level of sound intensity that is necessary for the pure tone to be perceived half the time it is presented, for each frequency.
2. Vocal Audiometry
Vocal audiometry assesses the person's ability to understand certain words, to distinguish certain sounds, which are emitted through headphones, with different sound intensities. In this way, the person must repeat the words said by the examiner.
How the exam is done
The audiometry exam is performed inside a cabin isolated from other noises that may interfere with the exam.The person wears special headphones and must indicate to the speech therapist, raising a hand, for example, when he hears sounds, which can be emitted in different frequencies and alternately for each of the ears.
This exam does not cause any pain and lasts approximately half an hour.
How to prepare for the exam
No special preparation is required to take this exam. However, in some cases, it may be recommended that the person avoid being exposed to loud and constant noise during the 14 hours before.
