A General Review Of An Audiometer

By Tiffany Gill


An audiometer is a medical device found in most clinics, hospitals and audiology centers. Its use is to determine the hearing loss intensity of patients. Generally, the device can be used by E. N. T specialist in diagnosing various problems. The standard measurement unit for this device is the decibel. It is a unit which is universally accepted to measure the intensity of sound.

The device does resemble a pair of headphones. However, it has several connections which include a special personal computer. Also embedded in this device is feedback control button. This button gives feedback signals to the PC whenever pressed. During operation, a patient is subjected to different audio frequencies which are from the audiometer. The patient then presses the button whenever they hear the sound. These different frequencies through which the patient is able to hear are than compiled to a data which is used to plot an audiogram.

The audiogram is plotted with the intensity of sound as the y axis in decibel units and the frequency of sound in the x- axis in hertz. The measured reading of the patient will be noted down and used to plot such a graph. Usually, the specialist uses computer software to aid them in drawing a perfect graph. They feed the reading to the computer software which automatically plots the audiogram graph. An important frequency known as the fundamental is included in the data as it is being fed to software to ensure the resulting audiogram captures all the details of the patient.

If you decide to shop for an audiometer, you will either go for the software or the hardware type. The software type is most common in homes and educational institutions. It uses special developed software which is installed in a computer. Data fed into this software gives the hearing range of the patient under test.

On the other hand, the hardware type comes with an embedded unit which is inclusive of a feedback button and a pair of headphones. The button gives signals back to the embedded unit as received from the patient. The pair of headphones is used to shield the patient from external noises during test this data is then fed to a special PC to produce an audiogram. This audiometer is expensive when compared to the software type.

During hearing loss diagnosis, the audiometer presents a sound to a patient which is then subjected to different frequencies. The reaction of the patient to this sound will be displayed in the computer. The doctor will vary this sound continually until they are satisfied that a complete hearing loss analysis is conducted. They will then construct an audiogram based ion these readings. The graph will then be analyzed to determine the range of frequencies where the patient is reacting to the sound. A headphone is provided to the patient to shield them from external disturbances.

During hearing loss analysis, the way through which patients respond to the sound varies. Adult patients are required to press a button while small children are provided with toys to show their reactions to the sound. Head turn can also be used to note a reaction to the sound.

Hearing loss problems are not suffered by human beings. Animals do also suffer from this problem. An audiometer is still the device veterinary doctors determining the hearing capabilities of animals. The animals are trained to respond to the sound through several practices like providing them with food, water e. T. C whenever they react to such audio frequencies.




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