Hearing test

Consequent to the tinnitus business, I was advised to get a hearing test done as the doctor (and I) felt that I had a long-standing minor hearing problem. We finally got around to doing it today. We did the test at an "Institute of Speech and Hearing" in Lingarajapuram. It was quite amusing, with all kinds of pings and beeps. Here's some fragments of understanding:

-- they do an middle ear, inner ear (and perhaps outer ear too) test
-- the normal hearing range is apparently 0 - 15dB, but those are just words and I don't know what they really mean. Also there is a range of frequencies of sound, so the above dB number will have a graph of values for each person over the frequency range.
-- they did one test where they increase the air pressure inside your ear and look at some response data. Then there's a test where they put earphones on you and subject you to beeps of decreasing volume at various pitch, to see when it becomes inaudible for you. And a similiar one where they use English words and ask you to repeat the word. An interesting variation of the above test is done with the earphones not sitting on your ear, but on the bone in front of and behind your ear (see first photo). Surprisingly, you can hear quite well in that configuration too.

The results were fine on all the tests, well within the normal limits. On the dB scale above, I had 10dB in one ear and 13.3 dB in the other at 1000Hz, which is the middle of the normal hearing range, and some drop off at higher and lower pitches.

I look distressingly bald. Perhaps I'll go to Batra's Homoeo clinic and try to do something about it.

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We're off tomorrow (Saturday) to Kodaikanal, and back on Thursday 28th. We plan to stop for a day at Madurai on the way back, to see the Meenakshi temple.