I had a car accident, then the woman who crashed my car, he claims that he lost some hearing because of the accident, but I doubt that is true. Can a person fake a hearing test???? Any answer will be very useful, even if it's an opinion.!!! THX 
Can a Hearing Test be faked?
- Thread starter TitoPR
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2008
- Messages
- 43,645
- Reaction score
- 504
I had a car accident, then the woman who crashed my car, he claims that he lost some hearing because of the accident, but I doubt that is true. Can a person fake a hearing test???? Any answer will be very useful, even if it's an opinion.!!! THX
The woman, he??
You can try to demand for an ABR which can't be faked, if you are being sued.
naisho
Forum Disorders M.D.,Ph.D
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2006
- Messages
- 6,433
- Reaction score
- 11
Yeh, I agree you can probably fake for the regular hearing test if you know what to expect and not give it away.
But I think they have the newer test these days where they plug in a thing in your ear and it measures your reflex/response, don't think you can fake that. Is that what it's called, Bott, ABR?
But I think they have the newer test these days where they plug in a thing in your ear and it measures your reflex/response, don't think you can fake that. Is that what it's called, Bott, ABR?
Anij
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2005
- Messages
- 2,340
- Reaction score
- 53
I can say that it's absolutely possible to have hearing loss due to a head trauma (including many types of car accident). I actually lost an additional 5db on my left side in a rear end collision almost 7years ago. Physiologically, it's probably more likely to have hearing loss from a side impact, than a front/rear impact, but any impact has the potential to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.
Many people don't realize that "head trauma" (any type of impact/fall/infection causing swelling to the brain etc) is one of the leading causes of sudden onset (non-genetic) hearing loss in adults - we actually have a number of people here on this board who have loss some/all of their hearing do to falls/accidents.
Some injuries that have been decisively linked to sudden onset hearing loss are: concussion, whiplash, neck injury, physical impact to the head, hitting the steering-wheel/door/windshield, falling/passing out and hitting one's head on something 'solid', being hit by a baseball bat/ golf club etc.
It's also possible for an injury (or illness/infection) to cause what is called "fluctuating hearing loss" (which I happen to have). With fluctuating hearing loss, various things such as stress, health, environmental factors, sinus pressure/inflammation, foods &medications can cause a very real, measurable change in one's hearing. The changes might be sudden (over hours) or gradually change over days or weeks (making it more difficult to notice and diagnose).
In my situation, I'm completely deaf on my right side (more than +120db) and have mild/mod fluctuating hearing loss on my left side. If I had a hearing test done everyday for a month, the results for my left side would vary from about 5db-20db over that month. I'm not "faking" these results, it's a true physiological change in my hearing based on a number of factors (one of which is that I also have very severe Fibromyalgia with Chronic Fatigue, which has been shown to cause F.H.L.)
As far as "faking" an Audiogram ....
With a qualified audiologist it's VERY hard to "fake" an audiogram. There are a few reasons for this, including that there is a test call a tympanogram that measures how the ear drum responses to sounds - the person being tested has ZERO control over the results. If the tympanography results doesn't match the pure tone testing the Audiologist will do additional tests to make sure the results are as accurate as possible. Once all the testing is done, the Audiologist will put an "accuracy score" on the audiogram ranging from "poor" to "excellent" which indicated how confident the Audiologist is about the results.
For what it's worth, because of the type of hearing loss I have, the type of tinnitus I have, and because I have APD, the best results my Audiologist get for me are "average/fair" which means that it's about 75% accurate. This doesn't mean I'm "faking" it, rather it simply means that issues beyond the audiologist and my control influence the accuracy of my test results.
BTW
If you're trying to "prove" they didn't sustain any hearing loss (temporary, permanent, fluctuating, or functional) in the accident it's likely to be a long, expensive, uphill battle. You'll want to have your insurance/lawyer request they see an Audiologist specializes in trauma related hearing loss as well as auditory processing problems.
To be completely honest though, unless they have a job in which they are required to have annual or bi-annual hearing tests done professionally by an Audiologist in a proper office you're not really going to be able to 'prove' they didn't lose hearing in the accident.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if the person had a "perfect" hearing test (no change pre & post accident) they may still have hearing/understanding issues due to the accident.
In some rare cases people who have head trauma (even a mild concussion, but certainly with any sort of bleed/fracture etc) may actually acquire CAPD/APD due to slight/mild trauma/damage in the brain itself (or hearing nerves). In these situations someone will functionally have a hearing loss (or altered ability to hear/understand - especially in noise) but not necessarily have db loss on a pure tone hearing test. It's important for people to realize that while CAPD/APD isn't a hearing "loss" per say, it IS a (sometimes major) communication loss/impediment because it alters one's ability to understand what they hear - effectively making them "functionally hard of hearing"
I hope that helps, although I'm guessing it's not really what you wanted to hear.
Many people don't realize that "head trauma" (any type of impact/fall/infection causing swelling to the brain etc) is one of the leading causes of sudden onset (non-genetic) hearing loss in adults - we actually have a number of people here on this board who have loss some/all of their hearing do to falls/accidents.
Some injuries that have been decisively linked to sudden onset hearing loss are: concussion, whiplash, neck injury, physical impact to the head, hitting the steering-wheel/door/windshield, falling/passing out and hitting one's head on something 'solid', being hit by a baseball bat/ golf club etc.
It's also possible for an injury (or illness/infection) to cause what is called "fluctuating hearing loss" (which I happen to have). With fluctuating hearing loss, various things such as stress, health, environmental factors, sinus pressure/inflammation, foods &medications can cause a very real, measurable change in one's hearing. The changes might be sudden (over hours) or gradually change over days or weeks (making it more difficult to notice and diagnose).
In my situation, I'm completely deaf on my right side (more than +120db) and have mild/mod fluctuating hearing loss on my left side. If I had a hearing test done everyday for a month, the results for my left side would vary from about 5db-20db over that month. I'm not "faking" these results, it's a true physiological change in my hearing based on a number of factors (one of which is that I also have very severe Fibromyalgia with Chronic Fatigue, which has been shown to cause F.H.L.)
As far as "faking" an Audiogram ....
With a qualified audiologist it's VERY hard to "fake" an audiogram. There are a few reasons for this, including that there is a test call a tympanogram that measures how the ear drum responses to sounds - the person being tested has ZERO control over the results. If the tympanography results doesn't match the pure tone testing the Audiologist will do additional tests to make sure the results are as accurate as possible. Once all the testing is done, the Audiologist will put an "accuracy score" on the audiogram ranging from "poor" to "excellent" which indicated how confident the Audiologist is about the results.
For what it's worth, because of the type of hearing loss I have, the type of tinnitus I have, and because I have APD, the best results my Audiologist get for me are "average/fair" which means that it's about 75% accurate. This doesn't mean I'm "faking" it, rather it simply means that issues beyond the audiologist and my control influence the accuracy of my test results.
BTW
If you're trying to "prove" they didn't sustain any hearing loss (temporary, permanent, fluctuating, or functional) in the accident it's likely to be a long, expensive, uphill battle. You'll want to have your insurance/lawyer request they see an Audiologist specializes in trauma related hearing loss as well as auditory processing problems.
To be completely honest though, unless they have a job in which they are required to have annual or bi-annual hearing tests done professionally by an Audiologist in a proper office you're not really going to be able to 'prove' they didn't lose hearing in the accident.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if the person had a "perfect" hearing test (no change pre & post accident) they may still have hearing/understanding issues due to the accident.
In some rare cases people who have head trauma (even a mild concussion, but certainly with any sort of bleed/fracture etc) may actually acquire CAPD/APD due to slight/mild trauma/damage in the brain itself (or hearing nerves). In these situations someone will functionally have a hearing loss (or altered ability to hear/understand - especially in noise) but not necessarily have db loss on a pure tone hearing test. It's important for people to realize that while CAPD/APD isn't a hearing "loss" per say, it IS a (sometimes major) communication loss/impediment because it alters one's ability to understand what they hear - effectively making them "functionally hard of hearing"
I hope that helps, although I'm guessing it's not really what you wanted to hear.
Last edited:
Anij
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2005
- Messages
- 2,340
- Reaction score
- 53
While they can't be "faked" (ie intentionally altered by the person being tested) they also aren't accurate for all people with hearing loss.
Accuracy can range from "very accurate" to "not accurate at all" depending on a number of factors. One major factor is if the person had an (congenital, or acquired) Auditory Processing Disorder (which can happen for any number of reasons including 'trauma').
In my case, I have been told by a number of unrelated specialists over the decades that it would be (effectively) pointless doing an ABR for me, because of the 'way' I hear, the type of hearing loss I have, and because I have APD in addition to hearing loss.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2008
- Messages
- 43,645
- Reaction score
- 504
You may mean acoustic emmissions?
naisho
Forum Disorders M.D.,Ph.D
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2006
- Messages
- 6,433
- Reaction score
- 11
I have the same question TitoPR, is it possible to fake a hearing test?
One of my friends in my school said she lied and said she had hearing problems to the office of disability and faked through the test to look deaf, so she would get accommodations
. Is this even possible?!?! How could she have done this since the tests are so complex nowadays?!?!?!
One of my friends in my school said she lied and said she had hearing problems to the office of disability and faked through the test to look deaf, so she would get accommodations
. Is this even possible?!?! How could she have done this since the tests are so complex nowadays?!?!?!
FireTiger
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2009
- Messages
- 515
- Reaction score
- 0
I have the same question TitoPR, is it possible to fake a hearing test?
One of my friends in my school said she lied and said she had hearing problems to the office of disability and faked through the test to look deaf, so she would get accommodations
maybe she's lying about being hearing... some do well in quiet environments or face to face...
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2006
- Messages
- 13,367
- Reaction score
- 2
I have the same question TitoPR, is it possible to fake a hearing test?
One of my friends in my school said she lied and said she had hearing problems to the office of disability and faked through the test to look deaf, so she would get accommodations
She could have faked it if it was a simple tone test.
whatdidyousay!
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2009
- Messages
- 29,362
- Reaction score
- 806
I lost more hearing after my car was T boned by a teenager driver. I thought my HA got damage when they popped out of my ears as I could not hear that good when wearing my HA. I had a hearing test and found out I lost more hearing! I was told it was from the head trauma I got.
dereksbicycles
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2011
- Messages
- 6,497
- Reaction score
- 26
but whose fault was this accident? If the accident was your fault, then it's tough. If not your fault, then they don't have as much leverage to sue you.
whatdidyousay!
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2009
- Messages
- 29,362
- Reaction score
- 806
I won a settlement against the kid! He was 100% at fault!