During the summer of 2020 when the world shut down due to the COVID pandemic, medical office visits also dropped off precipitously with only emergency cases being seen in person. However, for more mundane medical issues like a clogged ear or hearing loss complaints, telemedicine visits were utilized instead. However, it is very difficult to evaluate and treat an ear issue via telemedicine without being able to look in the ear or obtain a hearing test.
In order to obtain some of this necessary ear information for telemedicine visits, patients were encouraged to purchase digital otoscopes and online hearing tests became a "thing."
One of THE most accurate, easy, and fast way of obtaining a hearing test online was one developed by Dr. Stephane Pigeon, a research engineer and sound designer in Belgium.
Once patients were able to come back to the office in-person and a hearing test was able to be formally repeated, there was a surprisingly good agreement between the online hearing test and a formal traditionally performed hearing test conducted in a soundproof booth.
Try the free online hearing test by Fauquier ENT!
So impressed was I with the online hearing test made by Dr. Pigeon, I obtained his permission and licensing to use his code and audio tones to create my office's own free online hearing test with printable audiogram.
The one caveat is that online hearing tests can only test air conduction hearing... not bone conduction hearing. As such, online hearing tests can not distinguish between nerve hearing loss and reversible hearing loss due to earwax, ear fluid, or eardrum ruptures. Formal hearing tests are able to tell the difference between these two different types of hearing losses.
As such, online hearing test should never be considered as good as one performed professionally by an audiologist in a soundproof booth. BUT, when an audiologist is not available such as during a telemedicine visit, an online hearing test can perform a very good screening hearing test.
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