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Hearing in Noise Test

The Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) measures a person’s ability to hear speech in quiet and in noise. Schedule a consultation now

Conventional hearing tests measure hearing thresholds and speech recognition in a quiet environment to provide a basic idea of a person’s hearing. The HINT test measures a person’s ability to understand speech in noisy environments using both ears.

Often required by agencies, the Hearing in Noise test allows those with a mild hearing loss a second chance at passing pre-employment screenings.

We offer the official test both aided and unaided. We report results as outlined in the POST guidelines. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

What is the HINT test?

The Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) measures a person’s ability to hear speech in quiet and in noise. During the test, the patient uses both ears together (binaural hearing) to repeat sentences. Binaural hearing ability is essential for communication in noisy settings and for other aspects of functional hearing, such as sound localization and recognition of environmental sounds. In this test, the patient is required to repeat sentences both in a quiet environment and with competing noise being presented from different directions.

Who takes this test?

This test is primarily used for three populations.

  • The first group is those patients with normal hearing or a very mild hearing loss who report persistent difficulty understanding conversation amid background noise. This test provides some objective measure of how much difficulty an individual is having compared to persons that have normal hearing in quiet and in noise.
  • The second group is peace officers who have hearing impairment. They are required by the California Peace Officer Standard (POST) guidelines to have the HINT test because even minor degrees of hearing impairment can make it increasingly difficult for an officer to effectively carry out his/her duties.
  • The third group is our hearing aid users who wish to assess how different types of hearing aids benefit them in noisy situations
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