14 confusing hearing health terms, explained

Let's say you’re getting hearing aids for the first time. Or maybe you’ve worn these devices for a while now and you’re due for a checkup with your hearing care professional.

Either way, you may come across some terms about hearing aids or hearing tests that are confusing. What’s the difference between an audiologist and a hearing instrument specialist, for example? What is a decibel?

It’s normal not to know what some terms mean. Don’t be shy to speak up if you don’t understand something at your appointment. Your hearing care professional can explain it another way.

Ready to brush up on your hearing health vocabulary? This cheat sheet will help make things clearer.

Audiologist

These hearing care professionals have specialized degrees to help with hearing and balance issues.¹ Most of them earn a doctor of audiology (Au.D.) degree. Audiologists can administer hearing tests, diagnose hearing loss and hearing disorders, recommend treatment, and fit and program hearing aids.

Hearing instrument specialist

These hearing care professionals perform some of the same tasks as audiologists.¹ (They’re sometimes called hearing aid specialists or hearing aid dispensers.) They are state-licensed and trained to fit and program hearing aids. They also perform hearing tests. One difference: Hearing instrument specialists do not diagnose hearing disorders.

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Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that lets you connect your hearing aid to your phone via an app.² The app also lets you control some of the hearing aid’s features. For example, you can adjust the volume or background noise. It can also connect to a laptop or TV if the hearing aids are Bluetooth-enabled. This lets people stream the audio from a movie or series directly into their hearing aids.

Pure tone audiogram

This is the most common hearing test given by a hearing care professional.^{3, 4} You wear headphones while sitting in a special booth. In another room, a hearing care professional will play sounds at different intensities and tones. You press a button or raise your hand when you hear the sounds. Your results are charted on a graph called an audiogram.

Speech testing

This is another test a hearing care professional might give you. It measures how well you hear and understand other people talking, with and without background noise.^{3, 4} You’ll listen to words through headphones and then repeat them back.

Tympanometry

This common hearing test evaluates how well your middle ear is working.³ Your hearing care professional inserts a small probe into each ear. The device presses air into your ear and then assesses how your eardrum moves.

Decibel

A measure of sound level or volume. Sounds at or below 70 decibels are considered safe to listen to (such as normal conversation and dishwashers).⁵ Those at 85 decibels or higher (like power tools or a loud concert) may damage your hearing over time.

Did you know that many hearing benefits, including a hearing exam and consultation, are covered through UnitedHealthcare Hearing? Learn more.

Microphone

Many of us think of a microphone as something you speak into. But on a hearing aid, the word refers to small elements in the main body of the hearing aid.⁷ They collect sounds from the world around you and convert them to electrical signals.

Amplifier

This hearing aid part gets sound waves from the microphone. It then boosts the strength of the signals and sends them to the receiver.

Receiver

This is the part of a hearing aid that rests in your ear canal. It’s also called a speaker. It receives amplified sounds from the device’s microphone.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid

This type of hearing aid is good for all kinds of hearing loss.^{7, 8} BTE devices have a case that hooks behind the ear and holds the microphones and amplifier. It is connected by a tube to a receiver that sits in the ear canal. These hearing aids tend to be larger than other types.

Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids

The speaker rests in the ear canal and is connected by a tiny wire to a microphone and amplifier behind the ear. These are the most popular type of hearing aids. RIC devices are usually smaller and less visible than behind-the-ear hearing aids.⁹ They’re an option for people with mild to severe hearing loss.

In-the-ear hearing aids

With these custom-fit hearing aids, all the parts are contained in a case that fills the outer part of your ear. People with many types of hearing loss use them.⁷ They tend to be easier to handle because they’re on the larger side.

In-the-canal (ITC) and completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids

These tiny, custom-fit devices fit into your ear canal. They are less visible than in-the-ear hearing aids. They may be a good option for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Sources

1. Audiologists vs. hearing instrument specialists vs. ENTs American Academy of Audiology. Accessed March 10, 2025.
2. Bluetooth hearing aids: A comprehensive guide for 2025 National Council on Aging. Accessed March 10, 2025.
3. Hearing tests for adults National Library of Medicine: Medline Plus. Accessed March 10, 2025.
4. Hearing test (audiometry) Cleveland Clinic. Accessed March 10, 2025.
5. Noise-induced hearing loss National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Accessed March 10, 2025.
6. Loud Noise Dangers American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Accessed March 10, 2025.
7. Hearing aids National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Accessed March 10, 2025.
8. Types of hearing aids Cleveland Clinic. Accessed March 10, 2025.
9. Hearing aids: How to choose the right one Mayo Clinic. Accessed March 10, 2025.

Information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical provider. Consult your provider prior to making changes to your lifestyle or health care routine.