What happens at a hearing test for toddlers?
If your toddler has been referred by her pediatrician or care provider to an audiologist for a hearing screening, she’s likely to be tested using her behavioral responses. In these tests, your child sits with you in a sound-treated room and is taught a particular way to respond when she hears a sound — for example, raising her hand or turning her head to look for a flashing light or a moving toy. The audiologist will pay close attention to your child’s reactions and record her responses to different levels of sound. Behavioral screenings are quite useful, because they not only show that your child’s ears are hearing sounds, but that her brain is processing them and responding correctly. These types of tests may be followed up by computer-based screenings for confirmation. The most common computer tests are the otoacoustic emissions test (OAE) and the auditory brainstem response test (ABR). The OAE uses a soft plastic tip and a mini microphone to measure vibrations produced by the cochl
