How an objective audiometric test can become even more reliable

Thursday, January 10, 2013 - 09:01 in Physics & Chemistry

Not only can the human ear detect sounds, it can also generate them. If the ear hears the two upper tones of a major triad, it produces the fundamental of the chord which can then be measured. This phenomenon, called "otoacoustic emission" (OAE), is used by otologists for objective audiometric tests, e.g. in newborns. Investigations at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have shown that an OAE audiometric test becomes even more reliable if the two sounds are transmitted to the ear not via a loudspeaker, but by bone conduction.

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