Specialized Tests Gauge Ability to Distinguish High-Frequency Tones

Audio professionals, such as recording engineers and sound mixers for the music and film industries, depend on their ability to discriminate among very high-frequency sounds that others may not pick up.

Although such sounds are among the first to be lost through exposure to damaging noise, until now there has been no way to test acuity in those ranges.

But last week, the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles began offering specialized hearing tests that evaluate extended high-frequency thresholds. The testing is so new that no standards are in place; the institute will use its test results to establish them.

The test, which uses specialized headphones and an audiometer that interprets what the listener is hearing, costs $40. That cost cannot be refunded because the test is still in a pilot phase, although doctor-ordered diagnostic tests are covered, said Christa Spieth, a House Ear Institute spokeswoman.

The institute, a private nonprofit research and education organization, began the testing in response to industry requests. Sound professionals have been concerned about their own hearing health and the possibility of being held liable by concert-goers who suffered damaged hearing.