Models, Functions And Design Of An Audiometer

By Alyssa McCall


The hearing loss of an individual could be determined by an audiometer. The problem of hearing loss could only be solved if the individual's hearing loss has been determined. Hearing devices have a hardware that is usually put together with a headphone and they fall under the control of a standard PC. We have two types of devices, software devices and hardware devices.

An example of the software AM is the Screening PC Based AM that only uses a standard computer. This can be owned and run by anyone in their homes to check their hearing. Their accuracy however is not very good because they lack a standard for calibration. Some of these screening PC based devices can be found on a hand held device that is windows driven.

Clinical PC Based devices are the next examples, and they are comparatively more expensive than the Screening PC Based hearing devices, a software based device. Their efficiency is much better that that of the software device that we know of. They are used in hospitals, research centres and audiometric centres by the professional doctors. The accuracy of their calibrators is also good compared to the hardware devices.

There is a variety of hearing instruments offered by the market, each unique in its own way. One of them is the Astera instrument, which is a clinical one. It is PC based. Another PC based one is then Aurical hearing devices. In its clinical process, it is actually accurate and is run by batteries as well. The mid mate hearing device are not PC based but are stand alone devices. Air, bone and speech are the main features used in the audiometric process.

We have hybrid devices such as the Itera II which are both PC based and stand alone. It is easy for one to carry out their test session using this instrument. Another hybrid device is the Xeta device ant the other modification is that it is easily portable. They are fast, their flexibility is also great and their efficiency is also very great. The Micro mate audiometer is also hybrid but its uniqueness comes in in the test session that is easy and keeps contact of the patient.

It is important that the calibration of an instrument be done regularly so as to confirm that the level show on the display is the same as the real stimulus exposed to the subject. Countries such as the US check calibration of audiometers acoustically . This is done in line with the conditions set by the American Standards Specification for Audiometers.

If one intends to get their hearing loss, then they have to ensure that accuracy of their calibration is very high so as to get efficient results. If there are complications associated with the calibrations, it is an implication that in case of any treatment, then it will be wrong because of the wrong calibration.

In conclusion, audiometers are instruments used by professionals in say hospitals, but there are others that could be used domestically by people who would like to observe their hearing loss. Different audiometers are in existence as clearly listed. Their performance is determined mainly by the accuracy of their calibration.




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