Response method in audiometry.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared the speed, false-alarm rate, and participant preference of different response methods (raising a hand, pushing a response button, and giving an oral response) for measuring pure-tone thresholds.


METHODS
Thirty female university students with normal hearing participated. Response method order was randomly assigned to 6 different groups. Air-conduction thresholds were measured twice for each response method for each participant in octave intervals between 250 Hz and 8000 Hz. The 2nd threshold measurements were performed on a different day but within 2 weeks of the initial measurement.


RESULTS
A significant difference was found when comparing the amount of time necessary to complete the test for each response method. On average, it took about 1 min less when using the push-button response than when using hand-raise or verbal response methods. There was also a significant participant preference for using the response button. No significant difference between response method for threshold level and number of false positives was found.


CONCLUSIONS
This study supports the use of the response button when measuring auditory thresholds for young adults with normal hearing.
DiGiovanni
Jeffrey J
JJ
W222 Grover Center, School of Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA. digiovan@ohio.edu
Repka
Jennifer N
JN
D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans