Have you recently been affected by a ringing in one or both of your ears? You could have Tinnitus. The next logical step of course would be to take a Tinnitus test. The article below will go into detail about what you can expect at a Tinnitus test conducted at an audiologist’s office.
A typical Tinnitus test at a reputed audiologist can cost you a few thousand dollars. Insurance coverage on Tinnitus is a bit iffy. Even if you have great insurance, you can expect to spend about $1,000 over one or two visits, with the audiologist almost always recommending that you come back for several more sessions.
What is Your Tinnitus Handicap Score?
Calculate your THI Score in about 2-3 Minutes
So, before you take your Tinnitus test, you might want to know if your Tinnitus might just go away on its own. For some people, Tinnitus does go away on its own, especially if it was caused by a loud noise and if they don’t have any history of Tinnitus. Here are the top 10 signs that Tinnitus is going away. If you feel you are experiencing any or many of those signs, you may want to hold off on the audiologist visit for a day or two, to see if your Tinnitus will go away. If it does go away, it usually goes away in 24-48 hours from the time it started. That way, you can save yourself some expensive medical fees. But, Tinnitus is a recurring problem for a vast majority of people.
Even if it goes away, it can unfortunately come back. There’s more information on how you can try to manage Tinnitus in the page that I linked to above, towards the end of the article. It’s something worth considering as the solution is inexpensive and natural. Unlike audiologist given tinnitus treatments that try to mask the sound or help you learn to ignore or live with it, this natural solution corrects the root cause of your Tinnitus – a troubled connection between your brain and ears.
But, if you have decided to go ahead with a Tinnitus test, here’s what you can typically expect.
How Severe is Your Tinnitus?
Find out by using this THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory) Scoring Calculator
Tinnitus Test – A Visit to the Audiologist
Here’s a rough step-by-step procedure that most Audiologists follow when they conduct a Tinnitus test.
1 Your Tinnitus History
Typical questions you will be asked are;
- Did your tinnitus start recently?
- Were you exposed to a loud noise?
- Do you have any underlying medical conditions?
- What medications are you on?
- What new medications have you taken recently?
- How often do you hear the ringing?
- Does your Tinnitus affect
- concentration?
- sleep?
- understanding of conversations?
- What kind of sound do you hear; Low pitched ringing, high pitched ringing (most common), hissing, clicking, crickets, dial tone, music (rare) or an other sound?
Your audiologist may try to get into more detail depending on the answers you provide.
2 Physical Examination
Sometimes, Tinnitus might be caused by physical conditions such as a clenched jaw, TMJ, nerve pressure or other such irregularities. To help diagnose this possibility, your audiologist will have you close your eyes, clench your jaw, rotate your shoulder, stretch your next or make you look up and down, to see if your Tinnitus gets better or worse.
If a physical cause is clearly found, an appropriate treatment plan shall be advised. Only a small percentage of Tinnitus cases are caused by physical irregularities in any place other than the ear itself.
3 Hearing Tests
A vast majority of the time and money you spend on a Tinnitus test will be used on you administering several audio tests.
Typically, the following are the types of audio tests you will be made to take; All of these tests will have you sitting in a soundproof room, with headphones on.
- Speech audiometry tests – An audio with conversations or words being pronounced are played out. You will have to then recall what you heard or say what you have heard, as and when you hear it, so can observer can cross reference your hearing
- Pure tone testing – An audio that has several frequency ranges will be played. Your hearing will be observed to understand what Hertz and decibel levels you are able to hear and not hear
- Tympanogram – This is a test that that is conducted to test the functioning of your middle ear. You may or may not hear any sounds during this test. Only your audiologist will understand the results
- Acoustic reflex testing – You will be exposed to manageable loud sounds, to then measure the level of contraction of your middle ear muscles
- Otoacoustic testing – This is a complex test where the movement of hair cells in your middle ear is precisely measured
Typically, these are the audio tests you can expect to be given by your audiologist. If you wish to take up the treatments they advise, you might have to go back for additional tests such as;
- Tinnitus matching – Your audiologist will work with you to duplicate the volume and type of tinnitus sound you are hearing. This is usually necessary as the sound of your tinnitus is often recreated or reproduces in a way with which it can help you manage your tinnitus
- Loudness threshold level – This is a test that is usually given if you are suffering from hyperacusis or an extreme sensitivity to sound, in addition to your Tinnitus problem. This test will help your audiologist give you masking sounds that will not breach a volume that can otherwise cause you discomfort
4 Tinnitus Test Questionnaires
This is a very important and essential part of your Tinnitus test and it is advised that you provide very accurate answers instead of rushing through the questions. An audiologist will correlate the answers you provide to this Tinnitus test questionnaire with your audio test results, and then advise a treatment plan or course.
Typically, the questionnaire will include questions about;
- Level of tinnitus intrusiveness
- Effects on
- cognitive functioning
- hearing
- relaxation
- quality of life
- anxiety and stress
5 Imaging Tests (If Necessary)
Your audiologist may or may not prescribe imaging tests such as MRIs or CT scans, depending on what they have observe in their physical examinations, audio tests and how you describe your Tinnitus test.
If the tinnitus sound you hear is a thumping or whooshing sound, your audiologist might almost always advise an MRI. Similarly, if your tinnitus is asymmetric or more intense in one ear than the other, neuro imaging will often be recommended. If neuro imaging is recommended, you will obviously have to go back to your audiologist with the results, to help them investigate your condition further.
What Happens After Your Tinnitus Test?
Typically, after your first visit, your audiologist will send you home. They will then analyze the results of your audio tests. As said before, your test results are often analyzed in conjunction to the answers you provided on your questionnaire. So, again, please answer those questionnaire questions as accurately as you can.
A few days after your first visit, your audiologist office will call you back for another appointment. In this appointment, you will be given an assessment of your Tinnitus condition. Depending on its severity, you will be advised a customized treatment plan. Such treatment plans usually involve the use of sound masking devices or therapeutic audio sessions where your brain is ‘taught’ to try to ignore the sound of your Tinnitus.
Unfortunately, as mentioned before, your audiologist will be able to do very little to eliminate your Tinnitus condition. If the prospect of paying expensive fees to an audiologist is daunting to you, you can consider waiting to see if your Tinnitus will go away. Lack of medical intervention rarely makes your Tinnitus worse, unless you have an underlying medical condition that is causing your Tinnitus.
Many people like me have suffered from Tinnitus for 2 years or more, only to have it go away by taking supplements that improve brain function. If this is something you want to try, you can read my story here.