Audiometers are used to measure hearing thresholds and determine the type and degree of hearing loss. They provide either pure tones or speech stimuli. A basic audiometer consists of tone and noise generators, attenuators to control sound level, equalization circuits to calibrate frequencies, and power amplifiers. It tests air and bone conduction thresholds to diagnose hearing loss type. Threshold of hearing is the lowest sound level that can be detected. Audiometers are important clinical tools to evaluate hearing.
Audiometers are used to measure hearing thresholds and determine the type and degree of hearing loss. They provide either pure tones or speech stimuli. A basic audiometer consists of tone and noise generators, attenuators to control sound level, equalization circuits to calibrate frequencies, and power amplifiers. It tests air and bone conduction thresholds to diagnose hearing loss type. Threshold of hearing is the lowest sound level that can be detected. Audiometers are important clinical tools to evaluate hearing.
Audiometers are used to measure hearing thresholds and determine the type and degree of hearing loss. They provide either pure tones or speech stimuli. A basic audiometer consists of tone and noise generators, attenuators to control sound level, equalization circuits to calibrate frequencies, and power amplifiers. It tests air and bone conduction thresholds to diagnose hearing loss type. Threshold of hearing is the lowest sound level that can be detected. Audiometers are important clinical tools to evaluate hearing.
Audiometers are used to measure hearing thresholds and determine the type and degree of hearing loss. They provide either pure tones or speech stimuli. A basic audiometer consists of tone and noise generators, attenuators to control sound level, equalization circuits to calibrate frequencies, and power amplifiers. It tests air and bone conduction thresholds to diagnose hearing loss type. Threshold of hearing is the lowest sound level that can be detected. Audiometers are important clinical tools to evaluate hearing.
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AUDIOMETERS
Air and Bone Conduction
Air conduction, by definition, is the transmission of sound through the external .and middle ear to the internal ear Bone conduction, on the other hand, refers to transmission of sound to the internal ear mediated by mechanical vibration of the cranial bones and soft tissu Threshold of Hearing The threshold pressure level of a sound is the lowest level at which an observer can discriminate between the desired sound and the noise background always present in the .auditory system Measurement of Sound Sound intensity may be defined as the amount of energy flow per unit time through a unit area perpendicular to the direction of energy flow. It is expressed as .watts per square centimeter However, the common receivers of sound are microphones, which do not measure sound intensity directly. They are sensitive to sound pressure and therefore, it is more pertinent to measure sound in terms of sound pressure which is given in dynes per square centimeter or in microbars (one microbar equals 1 dyne per .cm2) Sound pressure, for a
given sinusoidal event,
is related linearly to both amplitude and frequency. Sound intensity proportional to the square of sound .pressure ity is Transducers In audiometry, generally employed transducers are (i)Earphone (ii)Microphones (iii)electret microphone (iv)bone vibrators (v)loudspeakers. Earphones: They are usually of the moving coil type. They give a reasonably flat frequency response up to 6 kHz after which their sensitivity falls rapidly. They are not specially designed for audiometric applications but for communication purposes. It may be noted that audiometer earphones are not interchangeable and must remain identified with a specific instrument to preserve its calibration. In conditions of ambient noise being too high for unshielded earphones, specially designed audio cups are used to exclude background noise which will otherwise result in elevated .threshold measurements Microphones: these are used to translate wave .motion in air into electrical signal Usual types are carbon button which changes resistance with air pressure, electrodynamics where a voltage is induced in a coil by its motion relative to a magnet, condenser where capacitance of a condenser is varied by the vibration of .the condenser plates Electret Microphone: consists of a very light diaphragm (moving plate) and back plate (stationary or static plate) and has a permanent charge implanted in an electret material to provide polarizing voltage. Basic Audiometer An audiometer is specialized equipment, which is used for the identification of hearing loss in individuals, and the quantitative determination of the degree and nature of such a loss. It is essentially an oscillator driving a pair of headphones and is calibrated in terms of frequency and acoustic output. Both frequency and .output are adjustable over the audio range Audiometers may be divided into two main groups on the basis of the type of stimulus they provide to elicit auditory response: pure-tone audiometers .and speech audiometers A pure-tone audiometer is used primarily to obtain air-conduction and bone-conduction thresholds of hearing. These thresholds are .helpful in the diagnosis of hearing loss
Speech audiometers are .
normally to determine speech reception thresholds for diagnostic purposes and to assess and evaluate the .performance of hearing aids Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a basic audiometer. It consists of two channels, namely tone generator and noise generator, and each channel having an attenuator, equalization circuit, and .power amplifier
The tone generator or
oscillator has a controllable frequency range from 250 Hz .to 8 kHz The equalization circuit is required to provide frequency dependent attenuation in order to calibrate the output sound levels in dB HL The attenuator, known as the hearing or tone level control, should be capable of controlling the output sound level over a .desired range in steps of 5 dB The amplifier must have low distortion and a good S/N ratio to meet the standard requirements. A response switch is given to the subject, to indicate his .response
