300 Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02115 (617) 355-6000 My Child Has: Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) Programs that perform this test Diagnostic Audiology Program   Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) is a behavioral audiometric test obtained in a sound-treated room. The child is seated on a parent's lap or in a chair between two calibrated loudspeakers, or using earphones. When a sound such as a tone at a specific frequency, speech, or music is presented, the infant's eye-shift or head-turn response toward the sound source is rewarded by activation of a lighted mechanical toy mounted near the loudspeaker. The child's attention then is distracted back to the midline so that additional sounds can be presented. Any test performed through loudspeakers rather than earphones is called "sound field" audiometry and does not test each ear separately; rather, sound field audiometry yields an audiogram for the better-hearing ear if there happens to be an ear difference in hearing. However, if the child tolerates wearing earphones, then the test assesses hearing in each ear separately. For children age 7 months to 2 1/2 years. The information on this website should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Copyright © Children's Hospital Boston. All rights reserved.