This Quick Quiz Can Screen You for Hearing Loss

The Hearing Handicap Inventory (PDF), developed in the 1980s by audiologist Barbara Weinstein, PhD, a professor of speech-language-hearing sciences and audiology at the City University of New York’s CUNY Graduate Center, helps assess auditory wellness, or the extent to which hearing loss affects people emotionally and socially.

Even a formal hearing test, or audiogram, may not provide a full picture of your hearing health. Someone with a hearing test that shows no hearing loss may struggle to hear in certain circumstances, Weinstein notes—and the opposite may be true, too. “Just because you have an impairment on the audiogram, it doesn’t mean that it’s interfering with your life and your wellness,” she says.

People whose scores suggest they are good candidates for OTC hearing aids should still rule out other possible medical causes of hearing loss, according to Weinstein. An audiologist or another medical professional can help with that, though you can also use another online tool—the Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment (CEDRA), developed at Northwestern University—to help identify ear problems that would warrant a trip to the doctor.

If you score Fair or lower, Weinstein says you should also consider other lifestyle adjustments along with hearing aids, like making sure you’re face to face with someone when they’re speaking, sitting closer to others during a conversation, asking people to take turns speaking during conversations, and opting for quieter settings.