Are hearing tests accurate?

[Nancy Drew]

I was diagnosed with AN 4mm x 5mm in Dec. 2005.  Doc was looking for something else, and the AN showed up.  Am in the wait and watch mode for now.  When I have hearing tests, they come out within normal limits for my age (47).  However, there are times when I just cannot understand what people are saying.  It is so frustrating to have to ask people to repeat things all of the time.  Can the hearing come and go?  Seems like when I go to the doc I am having a "good" day, and then I leave feeling crazy.  Had my second MRI last week and will get the results the middle of June.  Guess that will be the real deal to see if it is growing.  I hate having to worry about this thing all of the time.  Thanks much guys.  Have a nice day.

[Battyp]

IMO (and we all know I have one and I'm not a medical doctor!)  you're test can vary by facility.  I lost certain tones before others.  I could hear a womans voice next to me but not a man's so maybe you're experiencing something like that.  Also the tinnitus could be distorting the sound you are hearing?

[Gennysmom]

are they doing both sound and voice recognition tests for hearing tests?  I scored well on the sounds and tones and absolutely blew the spoken word test, just 16% right on my AN side.  That's common with AN patients, especially if you're in a place with lots of abient noise...your ability for word recognition goes down the tubes. 

[tony]

a agree coimpletely - the single tone test does not really push the weak part
of the typical A.N. type loss - the word recognition test gives a better indication
of "useable" hearing  so its best to do both
 - also you may already, subconciously, be lipreading - notice if you seem to "hear" better
when someone is looking at you as they speak
and yes the loss is not always uniform across the hearing range
- I remember I could hear almost deafening birdsong in the garden - but not understand
a person stood next to me.
Best Regards
Tony

[Road Trip Dale]

One more here that agrees.  I scored okay on the tone test but on the spoken word I scored so low that I really haven't noticed any difference in my ability to hear others speak since my surgery.  Make sure they do the spoken word test to determine how you are doing.  Also, keep in mind they usually do the test in a sound proof room where there are no outside distractions.  My tinnitus is/was relatively quiet in a quiet space but get me around other people and it used to drown out any conversation that was around me, so there could be a lot of auxillary factors.

[Jackie canada]

Although I haven't had my AN treated yet, I have had a couple of hearing tests.  The first a tone test in a little room with headphones where they found my hearing on my left side still to be about 80%, the second very informal when the surgeon russelled paper in my ear and whispered - I didn't have a clue what he was saying - his unscientific estimate was that word recognition was probably only about 20%.  I know if I get in a noisy room, or there's a lot of background noise I'm in trouble

I have another hearing test on the 13th June, I will ask them then about the disparency and keep you posted.  I think its one thing to test your hearing in a sound proof room, but in day to day situations it's quite different.

[Gennysmom]

When I had my hearing test, I had both the tone and the word recognition in the booth.  They did both 2 ways, just normal, and the other with increasing levels of what sounded like air being forced through the tube of the opposite ear that I was having tested, thus, testing my ability to hear in a place with loud ambient noises.  They also hooked me up to yet another machine that blasted more air and tones that apparently tested my ears response to this stimuli.  I was in the booth for probably a good 45 minutes. 

[russ]

Hi

  My feeling is that "in the booth" hearing tests are at best, "base line", and do not accurately represent 'real world hearing'. Especially the word recognition part as acoustics are 'legion' in the real world.
  Huh? -kidding...

  Russ

[Nancy Drew]

Thanks for the good info that I can take to my next doctor visit.  All of my hearing tests have been in the booth, and they did tone and word recognition.  If they are right in that my hearing is within normal limits for my age, then why is it that all of the people I've been around my age don't have the same problem.  Why would a doctor just dismiss my complaint of not being able to hear well when it is suppose to be the initial symptom of an AN?  I do have very slight tinnitis, but it doesn't bother me.  Also I've heard that a lot of people without an AN have tinnitis so mine might be just like theirs.  Seems like there really isn't a one size fits all with this diagnosis.  But, still it is nice knowing there are people out there who care and who can relate with the frustration of having an AN.  Nice also to hear successful stories. Hang in there everyone.  

[russ]

Hi Nancy!

  I copy from your first post: "However, there are times when I just cannot understand what people are saying.  It is so frustrating to have to ask people to repeat things all of the time.  Can the hearing come and go?  Seems like when I go to the doc I am having a "good" day, and then I leave feeling crazy.
  Re "Come and go", yes, hearing can flucuate.
  Also; Hearing may be partially a cognitive issue related to loss of attention if any vestibular damage has accrued.
  When I can't understand, often there is good volume; It's just the words don't come together in my head, aka, 'speech recognition', which is influenced by more than tonal response in the audio booth.

  Take care Nancy!

  Russ

[tony]

"why would a Doc just dismiss hearing loss as nothing serious (- when they are trained to look further )"
I dont know exactly why - but there are maybe a 100 plus  on this list where the doc/medical services missed the early signs - I was being treated for a "sinus" infection almost to the point where I could no longer walk -  I guess 99 times out of a 100 it really is nothing serious (slight hearing loss)  - the other 1% are regulars on this list
...if they are lucky...
Best Regards
Tony

[justafactoflife]

Hi Nancy,

I'm a newbie too to this forum but not to the AN.  My 1st AN was in 2003 and was small. 1.5cm approx.  I had it surgically removed and the doc did a before and after Auditory test in the booth.  Before was near normal.  After was approx 40% loss. 

I just had another MRI last week and they found another AN growing again in the same auditory canal.  This is almost 3 years to the day from the last one.  I went to a different ENT specialist because I didn't want to travel and my hearing and balance have been deteriating for the last 10 months.  His Auditory test in the booth showed my damaged side hearing had evidently improved for Speech recognition.  I only missed 3 words on that test.  My score was 88% out of 100%.  This with only 40% hearing? 
Yeah, ... right!!!

Moral of the story,.....Hearing tests are subjective to the person who is giving it and the procedures used.  They are not 100% accurate.  I don't believe my damage nerve for hearing improved or otherwise, I wouldn't have went to the ENT in the first place.   I  know some hearing is transmitted through your crainium bone and they give you a test on that too.  None-the-less, ...I assume a 2nd surgery will destroy most if not all my hearing this time no matter what.   It would be interesting to see how his test results would be afterwards, huh?

What did you say?

Darrell