Accurate, Reliable and Cost Effective

Telecare Health has specifically designed and developed an intelligent and interactive online hearing test that eliminates the need for extremely expensive equipment and specialized training. The online hearing test application, through telecarehealth.com allows everyone, including healthcare professionals, to possess the ability to accurately, reliably, and cost-effectively test hearing on the Internet in real-time.

The online system conducts a complete hearing test, analyzes the results, suggests a classification, presents an analysis in report format that is simple and understandable to both the user and to the healthcare professionals. It also allows the user to retain the test results in an accompanying database for ongoing test monitoring and comparison.

If required, the application can be easily modified to change test parameters to comply with specialized needs, and the application can easily create a hearing aid prescription, recommend an appropriate hearing device, and make a medical or audiological referral.

Works Anywhere there is a Computer with Internet Access 

This revolutionary new Internet Hearing Screening System will work in virtually any home or office computer, that has access to the Internet. The system allows the general public to perform a self-hearing screening test in the privacy of their home with incredible accuracy. It is designed to provide a quick and easy hearing screening, hearing related information and education, and automatic referrals to healthcare providers if a problem is detected.

The system not only provides instant access to hearing testing and screening for the general populace, but it also provides the base for a pre-diagnostic referral path or hearing triage that can greatly assist the existing healthcare providers to significantly screen a greater number of patients than was previously ever possible without specialized training or equipment.

 

The following test uses a proprietary software module that automatically downloads and temporarily converts your local computer into an audiometer ready to test your hearing. In order to protect your privacy, you will be asked to provide your email address and a secret password will be sent to you. This may take a few minutes. Once you have received your password, you can proceed to take the test.

     Click here to take a test

Preparing for the Test

You will need to use a set of properly calibrated headphones and your mouse in order to complete the test. You should be in a quiet room, turn down the TV or radio and eliminate any source of loud noise.

The Testing Procedure

Step 1.

Press "take the test button link" and upon entering the test site press "the sign-up button" and enter the required information. Your password will then be emailed to you. Upon receipt of the password you can begin to take the test. Enter the password and begin the test.

Please Note: Some users may have a problem receiving a password. This may be due to spam control software installed on your computer or your ISP's mail server, please check your spam control software configuration, internet security levels or consult your ISP.

Step 2.

Make sure your headphones are properly connected to your computer, and have your mouse ready. Each time you hear a tone, you will be asked to click your mouse. The tones will be heard first in one ear, and then the other. These tones will be played at different frequencies and sound levels, and help determine at which frequencies you may have a hearing impairment, and how severe that impairment is.

Step 3.

When the test is completed, the hearing thresholds that were recorded during the test are processed for classification. The test results and classification - and recommendation if required - are available to you for personal and/or medical use.

Once you have received your results, we invite you to check out our products and order one of our digital hearing devices at our special online pricing, if appropriate.

     Click here to take a test

Interpreting Test Results

A sample test result is shown below.

In this example, we are looking at the results for someone's right ear. The person tested is showing a conductive hearing loss that is moderate in severity (see diagram of ear). Confidence coefficients. There is a hearing loss right across all frequencies. Because this is a conductive hearing loss, medical examination should be undertaken immediately, to determine the medical reason for the hearing loss.

Hearing Loss Facts And Figures

1. According to the American Academy of Audiology, 28 million Americans suffer from some kind of hearing loss.
2. The major causes of hearing loss are aging, noise exposure, disease and injury.
3. Approximately 30% of adults who are age 65 or older have some hearing loss.
4. 18% of "baby boomers" (ages 45 to 64) have a hearing loss.
5. The estimated annual cost of lost productivity, special education, and medical care because of untreated hearing loss is $56 billion - an annual per capita tax of $216.
6. About 30 million Americans are exposed to potentially harmful sound levels every day, many of them at work (National Institute of Health).
7. Noise is the most common occupational and environmental hazard in the US (American Family Physician).
8. It is estimated that over 80% of people with hearing loss have only a mild to moderate hearing impairment.
9. The ear has over 25,000 tiny hair cells to help you hear the nuances of sound.
10. Only about 22% of persons with reported hearing difficulties owned a hearing instrument. (The Hearing Review, 2001)
11. Three out of five older Americans with hearing loss and six out of seven middle-aged Americans with hearing loss do not use hearing aids. (The Hearing Review, 2000)
12. The three main reasons for not wearing a hearing aid are
    • a perception that hearing loss is not severe enough
    • the cost
    • perceived negative images associated with hearing aids use (Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 1996)
13. The vast majority of Americans (95%) with hearing loss can be treated with hearing instruments.
14. Only 14% of physicians screen for hearing loss. Unfortunately, this helps contribute to the situation where most Americans with hearing loss do not seek assistance for their condition.
15. A typical set of custom fit hearing aids cost approximately $2,200 on average. Much of this cost is related to the personalized custom service of the hearing aid dispenser, making a mold that is custom fit to the user's ear and follow-up adjustment and service.
16. New technology that includes soft silicone sleeves has made it possible to create a uni-fit hearing device that will comfortably fit the vast majority of users without the need to custom mold the device to the user's ear. This has the capability to dramatically reduce the cost of hearing devices by providing over-the-counter solutions via the Internet and other alternative distribution channels.

Quick Self Test

Below is a quick self-diagnostic test you can take. If you would like to proceed directly to the online Pure Tone Test click here.

You may need a hearing device if...

• You feel the people mumble and do not speak clearly.
• You frequently ask people to repeat themselves or speak up.
• You turn the volume on your television set or radio up louder than is comfortable for others in the room.
• You need visual cues (watch the speaker's face and especially their lips) to understand the conversation.
• You need to sit close to the speaker to understand the conversation.
• You have trouble understanding people when you're on the phone.
• You have trouble following a conversation in a crowded room or noisy environment.
• You find it difficult to hear in public places such as an auditorium, bar or restaurant.
• Your family and friends comment on your inability to hear.
• You have to concentrate so hard on trying to hear and understand people that it becomes tiring.
• You understand some people better than others.

Five Ways to Save Your Ears

• Wear earplugs: Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band wear ear protection. You should too. A pair of cheap foam earplugs will do the trick, but it's better to invest in higher-fidelity Etymotic ER-20 plugs, which reduce volume without cutting out too much high end.
• Turn it down: Don't crank up your portable music player too loud, especially to compensate for other noise around you. If you're on a subway, the ambient noise could be as high as 105 decibels. To hear your tunes, you might turn the music up to 110, a level that is safe only for thirty minutes.
• Get better headphones: Those that shut out external noise allow you to turn down the tunes. In-ear phones like Etymotic's ER6 and Shure's E4C go deep into the ear canal to block pretty much all outside noise -- plus they sound great (a cheaper alternative is Sony's MDR-EX71). Bose's noise-canceling QuietComfort 2 fits over the ears and removes a lot of low-end noise.
• Give your ears a rest: "There's nothing wrong with going to a rock concert on Friday night," Experts tell us. "Just don't mow your lawn on Saturday." Your ears need about eighteen hours after exposure to sustained high volumes before they return to normal.
• Quit smoking: It doubles the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. "After a loud show, the way you get better is through blood supply to your inner-ear nerve cells," says Chicago audiologist Michael Santucci. "If you do something cardiovascularly restrictive, like smoking, your blood supply won't be as good. You're being exposed to two toxins, the cardiovascular toxin and the noise toxin."