Clinical applicability of insert earphones for audiometry

Insert transducers for audiometry are available which may offer significant advantages over older 'standard' headphones. Clinicians have remained cautious in using such devices due to the paucity of experimental data demonstrating their comparability with more widely used devices. The purpose of this investigation was to compare and contrast pure-tone audiometric thresholds obtained using insert earphones with those measured utilizing conventional supra-aural transducers in normal and hearing-impaired subjects. A second purpose was to examine the differential effects on the hearing threshold level of two coupling systems for the insert device. There were no clinically significant differences among pure-tone thresholds measured with the three earphone/coupler arrangements for subjects with normal and impaired hearing. Advantages and limitations of insert earphones are discussed.