The reliability of Békésy sweep audiometry recording and effects of the earphone position.
The hearing thresholds of subjects with hearing impairment of different severity were tested several times. The reliability of the hearing threshold measurements were analysed and compared to the inter-aural variations, the learning effects, the degree of noise-induced hearing impairment and the application of the earphones. The main factor determining the reliability of the hearing threshold is the application of the conventional earphone. A preliminary test-retest with the earphone adapted to an ear speculum for sound transmission to the external ear canal suggests that the precision of the Békésy sweep hearing threshold measurement can obviously be increased in the frequency range of 2 to 8 kHz.
D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis