A December 2015 Morning Edition health program that aired on National Public Radio (NPR)  featured a hearing test that consumers can take over the phone to determine if they have a hearing loss. As described by NPR, unlike a traditional hearing test that uses pure tones delivered in a series of beeps and hums at various volumes and frequencies to assess hearing, the telephone-based hearing test uses speech in the presence of background noise. The reason for using speech sounds for the telephone test is because there is a high degree of variability in phone instruments, which would render a pure tone test conducted via phone ineffective.

According to National Hearing Test, the nonprofit organization that offers the phone test, there is a high correlation between how you hear speech in noise and your level of hearing loss as measured with pure tones in an office setting. “It’s a test intended to be very convenient,” said Charles Watson, PhD, in the NPR story. Watson explained that the aim in providing a low-hassle, low-cost test is to encourage more people to get screened for hearing loss, and then to pursue a full audiological exam–something that is often delayed or avoided.

To take the test, you log onto the National Hearing Test website and pay a $5 fee. Then you’re given a phone number to call and a 10-digit access code. When you call, you’ll hear numbers embedded in a lot of static. You press the telephone keypad to indicate which numbers you heard. At the end of the phone test, you’re told if your hearing is in the normal range or if you have a moderate or severe hearing loss. You will get a separate score for each ear.

The test was started in the US in 2013, with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, which is also supporting Watson’s follow-up research.

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