audiometry (redirected from audiometers)

Audiometry 

Definition

Audiometry is the testing of a person's ability to hear various sound frequencies. The test is performed with the use of electronic equipment called an audiometer. This testing is usually administered by a trained technician called an audiologist.

Purpose

Audiometry testing is used to identify and diagnose hearing loss. The equipment is used in health screening programs, for example in grade schools, to detect hearing problems in children. It is also used in the doctor's office or hospital audiology department to diagnose hearing problems in children, adults, and the elderly. With correct diagnosis of a person's specific pattern of hearing impairment, the right type of therapy, which might include hearing aids, corrective surgery, or speech therapy, can be prescribed.

Precautions

Testing with audiometry equipment is simple and painless. No special precautions are required.

Description

A trained audiologist (a specialist in detecting hearing loss) uses an audiometer to conduct audiometry testing. This equipment emits sounds or tones, like musical notes, at various frequencies, or pitches, and at differing volumes or levels of loudness. Testing is usually done in a soundproof testing room.

The person being tested wears a set of headphones that blocks out other distracting sounds and delivers a test tone to one ear at a time. At the sound of a tone, the patient holds up a hand or finger to indicate that the sound is detected. The audiologist lowers the volume and repeats the sound until the patient can no longer detect it. This process is repeated over a wide range of tones or frequencies from very deep, low sounds, like the lowest note played on a tuba, to very high sounds, like the pinging of a triangle. Each ear is tested separately. It is not unusual for levels of sensitivity to sound to differ from one ear to the other.

A second type of audiometry testing uses a headband rather than headphones. The headband is worn with small plastic rectangles that fit behind the ears to conduct sound through the bones of the skull. The patient being tested senses the tones that are transmitted as vibrations through the bones to the inner ear. As with the headphones, the tones are repeated at various frequencies and volumes.

The results of the audiometry test may be recorded on a grid or graph called an audiogram. This graph is generally set up with low frequencies or tones at one end and high ones at the other end, much like a piano keyboard. Low notes are graphed on the left and high notes on the right. The graph also charts the volume of the tones used; from soft, quiet sounds at the top of the chart to loud sounds at the bottom. Hearing is measured in units called decibels. Most of the sounds associated with normal speech patterns are generally spoken in the range of 20-50 decibels. An adult with normal hearing can detect tones between 0-20 decibels.

Speech audiometry is another type of testing that uses a series of simple recorded words spoken at various volumes into headphones worn by the patient being tested. The patient repeats each word back to the audiologist as it is heard. An adult with normal hearing will be able to recognize and repeat 90-100% of the words.

Preparation

The ears may be examined with an otoscope prior to audiometry testing to determine if there are any blockages in the ear canal due to ear wax or other material.

Normal results

A person with normal hearing will be able to recognize and respond to all of the tone frequencies administered at various volumes in both ears by the audiometry test. An adult with normal hearing can detect a range of low and high pitched sounds that are played as softly as between nearly 0-20 decibels. Normal speech is generally spoken in the range of 20-50 decibels.

Abnormal results

Audiometry test results are considered abnormal if there is a significant or unexplained difference between the levels of sound heard between the two ears, or if the person being tested is unable to hear in the normal range of frequencies and volume. The pattern of responses displayed on the audiogram can be used by the audiologist to identify if a significant hearing loss is present and if the patient might benefit from hearing aids or corrective surgery.

Resources

Organizations

American Academy of Audiology. 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102. (703) 610-9022. http://audiology.org.

Audiology Awareness Campaign. 3008 Millwood Ave., Columbia, SC 29205. (800) 445-8629.

Other

"How to Read Your Hearing Test." Hearing Alliance of America. http://www.earinfo.com.

"Understanding Your Audiogram." The League for the Hard of Hearing. http://www.lhh.org.

Key terms

Audiogram — A chart or graph of the results of a hearing test conducted with audiographic equipment. The chart reflects the softest (lowest volume) sounds that can be heard at various frequencies or pitches.

Decibel — A unit of measure for expressing the loudness of a sound. Normal speech is typically spoken in the range of about 20-50 decibels.

Otoscope — A hand-held instrument with a tiny light and a funnel-shaped attachment called an ear speculum, which is used to examine the ear canal and eardrum.

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audiometry /au·di·om·e·try/ (aw″de-om´ĭ-tre) measurement of the acuity of hearing for the various frequencies of sound waves.audiomet´ric

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Békésy audiometry  that in which the patient, by pressing a signal button, traces monaural thresholds for pure tones: the intensity of the tone decreases as long as the button is depressed and increases when it is released; both continuous and interrupted tones are used.

cortical audiometry  an objective method of determining auditory acuity by recording and averaging electric potentials evoked from the cortex of the brain in response to stimulation by pure tones.

electrocochleographic audiometry  measurement of electrical potentials from the middle ear or external auditory canal (cochlear microphonics and eighth nerve action potentials) in response to acoustic stimuli.

electrodermal audiometry  audiometry in which the subject is conditioned by harmless electric shock to pure tones, thereafter anticipating a shock when hearing a pure tone; the anticipation results in a brief electrodermal response, which is recorded; the lowest intensity at which the response is elicited is taken to be the hearing threshold.

localization audiometry  a technique for measuring the capacity to locate the source of a pure tone received binaurally in a sound field.

pure tone audiometry  audiometry utilizing pure tones that are relatively free of noise and overtones.

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audiometry

[ô′dē·om′ətrē]

the testing of the sensitivity of the sense of hearing. Various audiometric tests determine the lowest intensity of sound at which an individual can perceive auditory stimuli (hearing threshold) and distinguish different speech sounds. Pure tone audiometry assesses the person's ability to hear frequencies, usually ranging from 125 to 8000 hertz (Hz), and can indicate whether a hearing loss is caused by an outer ear, a middle ear, an inner ear, or an acoustic nerve problem. Speech audiometry tests the ability to understand selected words. Impedance audiometry is an objective method of assessing the resistance or compliance of the conducting mechanism of the middle ear with a probe inserted into the ear canal. audiometric, adj.

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audiometry

measurement of the acuity of hearing for the various frequencies of sound waves. Not widely used in animals except under laboratory conditions. See also brainstem auditory evoked response, deafness.

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audiometry

The measurement of hearing. See Play audiometry, Pure tone audiometry, Speech threshold audiometry.