Free field audiometry

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Under Freifeldaudiometrie or sound field audiometry refers to the testing of hearing with sounds or speech over loudspeakers . Free field audiometry is a diagnostic procedure in ear, nose and throat medicine and an important aid for hearing aid acousticians when fitting hearing aids . As a behavioral and play audiometry, free-field audiometry is also used to test the hearing ability of (small) children.

The acoustic properties of the loudspeakers used and the test room are regulated by standards ( ISO 8253-2 , ISO 8253-3 ). The free field audiometry allows an assessment of the hearing in both ears under different conditions. When examining language material, an interference signal is often offered simultaneously via one or two loudspeakers in order to be able to assess the understanding of language in a realistic listening situation (see cocktail party effect ). The position of the loudspeakers can be selected differently in order to check the effects on speech understanding when listening with both ears.

Known test arrangements are e.g. B. the Döring test and the Oldenburg sentence test .

By testing the speech hearing by means of free field audiometry with and without a hearing aid or with one-sided or bilateral hearing aid supply, the hearing aid supply can be optimized and the effectiveness of the hearing aid supply can be checked. So far, free-field audiometry has found the most widespread use in hearing aid supply and testing.

literature

  • Gerhard Böhme, Kunigunde Welzl-Müller: Audiometry: hearing tests in adults and children: a textbook . 5th edition. Huber, Bern 2005, ISBN 3-456-84228-7 .
  • Ernst Lehnhardt , Roland Laszig (ed.): Practice of Audiometry . 8th edition. Thieme, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-13-369008-6 .