Models, Functions And Design Of An Audiometer

By Alyssa McCall


Instruments used to determine the hearing capability of persons is called an audiometer. Determination of the hearing capability of a person is essential so that one may get the right medication. These instruments are usually under the control of a standard PC and one of their components is a hardware that can be connected to headphones. We have both software hearing devices and the hardware based ones.

There is a software device called the Screening PC Based hearing loss measurement device. It is controlled by the standard computer. This type of instrument can usually be purchased by any person with the aim of checking their hearing loss. Their disadvantage is that their accuracy is poor as they do not have a standard for calibration. Some among this type can be found on hand driven devices that are windows driven.

The Clinical PC Based hearing loss measurement instrument is also an example and is sufficiently expensive compared to the Screening PC Based hearing failure recording device, which clearly is a software hearing device. The portray themselves as sufficiently accurate and efficient as compared to the software devices. They are useful to the professionals in hospitals, audiometric centres and also research centres. Hardware devices are less accurate than this type of devices.

There rare different types of hearing devices with different modifications in the market. The clinical Astera one is an example and it is PC based. The PC based Auricle one is another example. It uses batteries I its operation and has proved to be extra accurate. We also have the Midimate audiometers that are stand alone in other words they are not PC based. The audiometric process uses air, bone and speech.

We have hybrid devices such as the Itera II which are both PC based and stand alone. It is easy for one to carry out their test session using this instrument. Another hybrid device is the Xeta device ant the other modification is that it is easily portable. They are fast, their flexibility is also great and their efficiency is also very great. The Micro mate audiometer is also hybrid but its uniqueness comes in in the test session that is easy and keeps contact of the patient.

The devices calibration should be checked time after time so as to ensure that the stimulus level is the same as that shown on the display. Acoustical checking of the audiometer is mainly practised by countries as the US. The American Standards Specification for Audiometers is the one that sets the method to be used in dong this.

For one to quantify their hearing loss, the audiometer they are using have to be very accurate for it to produce reliable measurements. If the device has complications with its calibration, it means that the measurements found are wrong and therefore the frequency set for the correction would be wrong.

It is thus clear that an audiometer is a clinical instrument but individuals could own them if they are cautious about their hearing loss. There are different audiometers as are listed above. Their calibration is an essential instrument for their performance.




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