How to Take a Hearing Test at Home?
Why Is It Important for Our Hearing?
Our sensory organs are of vital importance in discovering, recognizing and making sense of the world on our journey through life. Our ears are also very valuable in terms of understanding what is happening around us as well as being able to communicate with our social beings. Our hearing can change over the years, we can hear less due to harmful sounds we hear around us, sudden shock wave sounds that disturb our ears during long phone calls, listening to loud music, hearing problems due to aging. Hearing sounds are a check-up that many of us go to the hospital to have. So, do you know how to do a hearing test at home ?
What is Sennheiser Hearing Test?
When it comes to sound, one of the important brands that comes to mind is Sennheiser. With its 78 years of experience, Sennheiser is loved by users with the Hi-Fi headphones, Bluetooth over-ear headphones, Bluetooth in-ear headphones and soundbars it has produced on the end user side. On the professional side, Sennheiser has expanded its dominance in the market with the microphones it has developed in sound recording technologies, and broadcaster and producer headphones.
Sennheiser has gained a lot of know-how in hearing health with the Demant Group, with which it has collaborated on the EPOS brand in the past. It has collaborated with William Demant on many issues such as understanding words, understanding what the other person is saying, and focusing on the task at hand without losing focus during a meeting we attend. This knowledge and experience formed the basis of the Sennheiser Hearing Test application, which Sennheiser has recently introduced for those who want to test their hearing at home.
You will find the answer to how to use Sennheiser Hearing Test and how to test your hearing at home in this guide. First of all, we shared how to download the Sennheiser Hearing Test application, more information on how to use the application and how to pair it with Apple Health in our first article.
How is Hearing Test Performed on the Phone?
In this article, we will explain step by step how you can do a hearing test on the phone using the Sennheiser Hearing Test application. You can follow the steps below to learn the details. This application, which we will also refer to as an online hearing test, only gives us an idea. If you encounter any negative results, please do not forget to consult your doctor for a definitive diagnosis.
Step 1: After opening the Sennheiser Hearing Test application, the first screen that will appear will ask us to accept the terms and conditions. You can select the I agree to terms and conditions option. The other option is optional and you can mark it if you want your anonymous user data to be shared with Sennheiser. After making your options, you can continue by clicking continue.
Step 2: Now on the screen that appears, the application will ask if you have a Sennheiser account. If you have previously created a Sennheiser account, you can answer yes to this question and log in with your account information. However, if you do not have an account, you can select the no option and proceed to the next screen.
Step 3: On the next screen, it says “Test your Hearing”, let’s click on this button.
Step 4: Then, on the screen that says “This is what you need”, in order to do the test, first make sure you are in a quiet environment and have a pair of headphones. You can do this test with any brand of headphones, but Sennheiser recommends that you use Sennheiser headphones. If we are in a quiet place and have our headphones with us, let's press Let's start and go to the next screen.
Step 5: On the screen that appears, it is mentioned in the "Your privacy" section that personal data will not be recorded. Only you
If you wish, your test results can be saved, which is recommended for comparison with future tests. At this stage, click the Continue button.
Let's click.
Step 6: On the screen that says We Recommend, Sennheiser has recommended that we turn off notifications while testing, any notifications that may come during the test will negatively affect the test application results. If we have made an equalizer setting while using our headphones, it does not recommend that we reset it to neutral, that is, make a personal equalizer setting. Let's click on the OK button.
Step 7: On the screen that says Take your time, it is emphasized that we should do the test without rushing and that the test can take about 5 minutes on average. It is recommended that we do the steps at our own pace. In this step, we can start the test by saying OK, let's begin.
Step 8: The application asks us for our age, let's enter the correct age range here and press the Continue button.
Step 9: The next question asks us how you think your hearing is. There is an option here. If you think your hearing is weak, you can choose poor, if you think your hearing is good, you can choose good, if you have no idea about your hearing, you can choose not sure. After you make your choice, you can choose next
Click the button.
Step 10: The second question we come across asks us if we have any difficulty while talking on the phone. If you always have problems, always, if you often have hearing problems, often, if you sometimes have problems, sometimes, if you rarely have problems, rarely, and finally if you never have problems, never and click next.
Step 11: In the last question, the application asks us if we have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds such as birdsong. The options in this question are the same as in question 2. After giving your answer, you can press the continue button.
Step 12: The ambient noise is measured in the needle that appears in front of us. Hearing Test recommends us to go to a quiet environment. It is recommended that you go to a quiet room in your house and do the test alone. You can create a quiet environment by closing the windows and doors of your room during the test. When it says fine under the needle, it indicates that the environment you are in is suitable for testing. At this stage, press the continue button.
Step 13: At the Please connect your headphones stage, the application tells us to connect our headphones. If the headphones you connect are wired, the Bluetooth icon turns blue, if they are wired, the wire icon turns blue. After your headphones are connected, you will see the words headphones connected at the top. Now that we have connected the headphones, we can continue by clicking continue.
Step 14: The Sennheiser hearing application now asks us whether the headphones we are using are in-ear or over-ear, after selecting the correct option we can click select. Then it asks if this headphone is aSennheiser headphone model, to which you can answer yes if yes or no if no. At this stage we click next.
Step 15: At this stage, the model of our headphones will be scanned on the screen that appears. Users who use Sennheiser headphones can introduce the headphone model they use to the Hearing App application by saying scan. Now, if we have introduced our headphones correctly, we can click on the product image and say continue.
Step 16: On the new screen, the hearing application notices that we are using Sennheiser headphones and tells us that we have excellent results. Using calibrated Sennheiser headphones means high accuracy for this test. After saying great, we can continue.
Step 17: The application now advises us to keep the volume level at medium, that is, in the middle. After turning our volume to medium, we can click the done button.
Step 18: As a final reminder, the app advises us to make sure we are in a quiet environment and to start the test by turning off a mode such as active noise cancellation if it is active. Once everything is ready, you can press the I'm ready button.
Step 19: If you want to do a practice round on the screen that comes up with the name Let's do a practice, you can say continue, if you want to start the test directly, you can skip the practice test by saying skip practice round. Remember, this practice test will not affect your final result. If you wish, let's practice and move on to our test. Here, the application recommends that we turn the wheel until we hear a tone. While practicing, we only turn the wheel clockwise once, and after this round is over, we can move on to the actual test by pressing the start tone test button on the screen that appears.
Home Hearing Test Result
Step 20: During the actual test, the application makes us listen to tones 4 times, meaning we will turn the wheel 4 times. The Sennheiser ear test application measures our hearing health by first listening to the left ear, then the right ear, then the right ear again, and finally the left ear.
Step 21: In the last step, you will see the text Hearing test complete, this is an indication that you have completed the test, you can go to your results screen by pressing the calculate results button.
Interpreting Hearing Test Results: Your results, your personal audiogram is here. Here the application shows you your hearing level as normal (Normal), very mild hearing loss (Mild), mild hearing loss (Moderate), moderate hearing loss (Moderately severe), severe hearing loss (Severe) and profound hearing loss (Profound) in blue. The application also makes recommendations about your hearing health. As you scroll down on the same screen, you can also view the graph of your right and left ear's hearing loss in the your audiogram section, and in the both section, you can see the hearing loss comparison between your ears. When you press the learn more button, you can learn more about your hearing loss level, and you can view Sennheiser's hearing aid headphones and TV headphones recommended for you. Again, when you scroll down on the your results screen, you can read 19 articles about hearing and ears in the learn more section. If you want to save your result and compare it with those around you or follow your ear health level with the tests you will do over the years, you can save your result by pressing the save button in the upper right corner of the screen (you need to create a Sennheiser account).
How Should We Protect Our Hearing Health?
What Should We Do to Protect Our Ear Health?
- You should not use cotton swabs and similar objects while cleaning our earwax.
- You should protect your ear from hard blows that may come to your ear for any reason.
- Avoid staying in the sea or pool for a long time without using proven, anti-allergic earplugs.
- Hearing functions should be closely monitored in children at an early age.
- In case of any pain or complaints in your ear, a doctor should be consulted without wasting time.
- You should not spend a long time in very loud and noisy places such as nightclubs, stadiums, concerts, and earplugs should be used.
- While listening to music with headphones, a maximum of two hours should be spent without turning the volume up (not exceeding the level of 80-90 dB). When you turn up the volume too much when you put on many headphones for the first time, it will affect your ear health.
They say it's not good for them. - If you have metabolic diseases such as thyroid, diabetes, kidney, high blood pressure, you should do your hearing tests regularly and you should not neglect them.
- When hearing loss is definitively detected and there is no possibility of treatment, hearing aid should be used without delay and your life comfort should be increased.
- It should not be forgotten that the use of certain drugs (aspirin, gentamicin, cisplatin, etc.) for a long time or in high doses during your disease processes will put your hearing health at risk.
- If you experience sudden hearing loss, you should consult your doctor within the first two days.
- If you suspect tinnitus, there may be many reasons for this, but if it is unilateral, you should consult your doctor immediately (Can, A., 2020, Near East University).
How Can We Improve Our Hearing?
After a specialist doctor diagnoses your hearing loss, you can start hearing aid treatment. However, some users whose hearing problems have not progressed too much may not want to use hearing aids. Sennheiser recently announced a headset that looks like a classic true wireless headset for these people. Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus is a hearing aid true wireless headset developed by Sennheiser for users who cannot clearly understand dialogue in crowded environments such as nightclubs, restaurants, and beaches. Since it is no different from a normal wireless in-ear Bluetooth headset with its appearance, it is a product that people can use freely without hesitation. Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus will be with you at Hifilife very soon.
What are Hearing Degrees?
Hearing thresholds vary from person to person. The home hearing test app tells you your hearing level after using the Sennheiser Hearing Test App.
The degrees of hearing are as follows:
- The normal hearing range is between -10 and 19 dB.
- Very mild hearing loss is in the range of 20 - 34 dB.
- Mild hearing loss is in the range of 35 to 49 dB.
- Moderate hearing loss is between 50 and 64 dB.
- Severe hearing loss is in the range of 65 - 79 dB.
- Profound hearing loss is over 80 dB.