TY - JOUR
T1 - High-Frequency Audiometry
T2 - Test Reliability And Procedural Considerations
AU - Stelmachowicz, P. G.
AU - Beauchaine, Kathryn A.
AU - Kalberer, Ann
AU - Kelly, William J.
AU - Jesteadt, Walt
PY - 1989/2
Y1 - 1989/2
N2 - This study compared the reliability of a recently developed high-frequency audiometer (HFA) [Stevens et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, 470-484 (1987)] with a less complicated system that uses supraaural earphones (Koss system). The new approach permits calibration on an individual basis, making it possible to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL. Data obtained from 50 normal-hearing subjects, ranging in age from 10-60 years, were used to evaluate the effects on reliability of threshold variance, earpiece/earphone fitting variance, and the Variance associated with the HFA calibration process. Without earpiece/earphone replacement, the reliability of thresholds for the two systems is similar. With replacement, the HFA showed poorer reliability than the Koss system above 11 kHz, largely due to errors in estimating the calibration function. HFA reliability is greater for subjects with valid calibration functions over the entire frequency range. When average correction factors are applied to the Koss data in an effort to convert threshold estimates to dB SPL, individual transfer functions are not represented accurately. Thus the benefit of being able to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL must be weighed against the additional source of variability introduced by the HFA calibration process.
AB - This study compared the reliability of a recently developed high-frequency audiometer (HFA) [Stevens et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, 470-484 (1987)] with a less complicated system that uses supraaural earphones (Koss system). The new approach permits calibration on an individual basis, making it possible to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL. Data obtained from 50 normal-hearing subjects, ranging in age from 10-60 years, were used to evaluate the effects on reliability of threshold variance, earpiece/earphone fitting variance, and the Variance associated with the HFA calibration process. Without earpiece/earphone replacement, the reliability of thresholds for the two systems is similar. With replacement, the HFA showed poorer reliability than the Koss system above 11 kHz, largely due to errors in estimating the calibration function. HFA reliability is greater for subjects with valid calibration functions over the entire frequency range. When average correction factors are applied to the Koss data in an effort to convert threshold estimates to dB SPL, individual transfer functions are not represented accurately. Thus the benefit of being able to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL must be weighed against the additional source of variability introduced by the HFA calibration process.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0024495620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0024495620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1121/1.397559
DO - 10.1121/1.397559
M3 - Article
C2 - 2926002
AN - SCOPUS:0024495620
VL - 85
SP - 879
EP - 887
JO - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
JF - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
SN - 0001-4966
IS - 2
ER -