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from the "can-you-hear-me-now"-is-too-cliche-of-a dept.
Ever wondered if you've hurt your ears? Too much rock 'n roll, or too many loud race cars? Just discovered this over-the-phone test which is offered free this month in USA, call 866-223-7575.
More info at nationalhearingtest.org:
The critical difference between the NHT and other telephone tests is that the NHT uses digits in noise, rather than pure tones. Previous objections to telephone-administered tests were based on the unreliability of pure-tone tests administered over the telephone. Because the NHT measures an SNR threshold, rather than one based on the absolute level of tones, the NHT can produce a reliable screening measure of hearing, despite the differences in sound levels produced by different telephones.
Scientists at VU University Medical Center in the Netherlands developed the first telephone hearing screenings based on spoken digits in noise. The Dutch National Hearing Test was introduced in 2004 and has since served as a model for similar tests throughout Europe and Australia. The United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, and Australia have developed and introduced their own versions of a telephone hearing screening, all using digit sequences presented in noise. The growing popularity of this form of screening test is due in part to its demonstrated validity and reliability. Testing by telephone is also a convenient, inexpensive way to determine whether a person's functional hearing is within the normal range.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hankwang on Monday May 12 2014, @07:13AM
In the train I often encounter people, usually aged below 30, wearing earbuds that emit tinny sounds that I can hear at 4 m (sometimes even 10 m) distance, above the background noise in a train going at 140 km/h. Occasionally I'm playing music on my own sealed earbuds and still hearing their annoying beats. I think they are exposing themselves to sound pressure levels that approach the pain threshold.
I have always wondered whether we are going to see a surge of nearly deaf people by the time they are 50 years old. I have tried to find data on this subject, but although there seem to be a few professional audiologists who share this concern, I couldn't find any hard data.
I'm 40 years old. I did once visit an audiologist for a free hearing test and my frequency response is pretty much 100% up to 8 kHz (that's as far as they go). Good ears, but nothing extraordinary.
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