Audiometry: masking.(AUDITORY AND VESTIBULAR MEDICINE CLINIC)

Audiometry provides information about hearing function, not about diagnosis. Many different causes of hearing impairment produce similar audiometric results. Nevertheless, we rely upon audiometric test results to help establish a diagnosis, so it is essential that they be accurate. One common source of error occurs when the audiometric stimulus is perceived in the contralateral (nontest) ear, and patient responses are unknowingly recorded as if they had resulted from stimulation of the test ear. Audiologists avoid this error by expert use of masking.

Since patients with…