title: Masked high-frequency bone-conduction audiometry: test reliability.
abstract: The present study examines the reliability of masked high-frequency bone-conduction threshold measurements in 95 normal-hearing subjects. High-frequency pure-tone air-and bone-conduction thresholds were measured with a dedicated laboratory high-frequency auditory evaluation system using matched, modified Koss Pro/4X Plus earphones, and the Pracitronic KH 70/5 bone vibrator. A 400-Hz wide band masking noise centered at the frequency of the test tone was used to mask the nontest ear. Monaural masked bone-conduction threshold measurements were obtained at the ipsilateral mastoid of the ear with better high-frequency hearing. Two measurements were performed in each session, and each subject participated in two sessions. In several comparisons for test-retest consistency, high-frequency bone-conduction threshold measurements were as repeatable as air-conduction thresholds of identical frequency, or bone-conduction thresholds for frequencies of 4 kHz and less. High-frequency bone-conduction threshold measurement appears to be a sufficiently reliable tool for diagnosis of auditory disorders.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97207.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Fausti
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Frey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D015203:Reproducibility of Results