audiometry

Indications

• hearing disorders
  • gold standard for identifying hearing loss
  • tinnitus
  • otosclerosis
  • Meniere's disease
  • tympanosclerosis

Procedure

• the test is conducted by an audiologist using an audioscope
• testing takes about 3 minutes

• pure tone thresholds as heard through headphones (air conduction)*
• pure tone thresholds as heard through the skull (bone conduction)*
• pure tone average is 26 dB
• a test tone of 60 dB is delivered
• sounds at 20, 25, 40 dB
• frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz
• ability to understand words (speech discrimination)

• patients fail if they cannot hear:
  • either 1000 or 2000 Hz at 40 dB (both ears)
  • both 1000 or 2000 Hz (either ear)

* audiogram interpretation of the air conduction/bone conduction ratio differs from the Rinne test such that with sensorineural hearing loss both air conduction & bone conduction are equally depressed at the same point on the audiogram

More general terms

• hearing evaluation

Additional terms

• audioscope
• hearing aid; digital hearing aid
• hearing loss (hearing impairment, hard of hearing, HOH)
• hearing; audition