Boothless hearing tests are done outside of a sound booth. Hearing tests are usually done in a room or booth specifically designed to block out sound. This helps to make sure background noises do not affect the hearing test results. Conducting tests in a loud location could cause inaccurate test results. There are national standards to make sure background noise is quiet enough to get accurate hearing test results.

Boothless hearing test equipment is designed to reduce background noise and does not need a sound booth. This is done with special sound-attenuating headphones or with insert earphones covered with a sound-attenuating noise muff. Most boothless hearing test systems also monitor background noise during testing. When sounds exceed the allowed standards, the system will pause and then start the hearing test when sounds are acceptable for testing. Regular hearing test equipment does not monitor noise because they are for use in sound-attenuating booths.

The biggest benefit of boothless hearing testing is being able to conduct hearing testing almost anywhere. This includes places where sound booths are not available or too expensive to set up. For the military, the ability to bring hearing testing to the battlefield, closer to the point of injury, is important. For military hearing conservation programs, if people can be tested at their worksite there is no need to have dedicated space for a sound booth. This can save both time and money.

Boothless hearing testing is appealing to leadership because it can reduce costs for annual hearing testing. In health clinics, boothless hearing testing can provide a quick hearing check before a person is referred to the audiology clinic.