Computer simulation technique for assessing pediatric auditory test protocols.
Adaptive testing procedures are widely used for evaluating the hearing of young children. A standard protocol for such testing, however, has not been recommended and, as a result, many variations of the procedure are used clinically. This study, by utilizing computer simulations, varied several test parameters and examined the resulting test outcomes. We evaluated the effects of starting level, stimulus step size, and the use of conditioning trials on test outcome, while also varying the hearing levels and false positive and and negative rates of our simulated subjects. Results indicated that a low starting level, with a 20-dB down 10-dB up step size, and no conditioning trials produced the most accurate estimates of thresholds under most conditions.
Tharpe
A M
AM
Division of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.
Ashmead
D H
DH
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003201:Computers; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013017:Sound Localization