THE audiometry is an examination used to evaluate hearing, which consists of defining the lowest individual hearing threshold at different sound frequencies, through an audiogram, in addition to speech recognition. The professional uses the data collected to determine the type and degree of hearing loss (if any).
According to Regulatory Standard 7 (Medical Occupational Health Control Program), it is an "examination that must be performed by a qualified professional, ie physician or speech therapist, according to the resolutions of the respective professional federal councils."
Usually, this examination is requested when the patient or his / her family members claim that they are "hearing little", but may also be used to complement other diagnoses (traumas, infections, hereditary conditions, etc.) or used in occupational medical appointments (admission exams, periodicals, etc.).
The degree of hearing loss can be verified in each ear alone and may be due to:
- Losses from the external ear and / or middle ear (conductive)
- Losses from the inner ear and / or nerves involved in hearing and / or sensory (sensorineural) auditory pathways.
- Mixed losses.
Basically, there are 2 types of audiometry:
Tonal audiometry: evaluates the patient's responses to pure tones emitted at different frequencies, thus detecting the degree and type of hearing loss.
Speech audiometry: evaluates the ability to understand the human voice, in which the patient demonstrates his perception and understanding of the human voice emitted by the examiner.
The examination is performed as follows: the examiner is placed inside an acoustic booth (ideally designed to optimize the quality of the exam) in order to isolate it from environmental sounds, which has a glass wall through which the examiner can see it.
The examination is done in silence; the patient should only raise one hand, for example, signaling the side where he heard the sound stimulus (he raises his left hand when he perceives the sound reaching his left ear).
To test the bone pathway, a bone vibrator is placed over the mastoid bone. After tonal audiometry, the vocal can be performed, in which the examiner must repeat the words spoken by the examiner.
If a hearing loss is suspected, a physician (preferably an otolaryngologist) should be consulted for evaluation and treatment.
