What type of tests are used to determine the level of hearing loss in a patient?

Hearing evaluations are comprehensive tests specifically designed to determine the level of hearing loss in a patient. These evaluations often include pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and tympanometry, among other assessments, to accurately measure an individual's hearing ability across different frequencies and intensities.

By thoroughly analyzing these results, hearing professionals can identify the type and degree of hearing impairment present. This information is crucial for determining the appropriate treatment or intervention, such as fitting hearing aids or recommending further audiological care.

While listening assessments, speech recognition tasks, and environmental sound assessments can contribute to understanding a person's overall auditory capabilities and difficulties, they do not specifically measure the degree of hearing loss in the same standardized way that hearing evaluations do. Therefore, they serve a different purpose in the diagnostic process.