Comparison of two methods to predict cochlear pathology from Békésy tracings

Two different methods for classifying cochlear pathology were applied to 62 BEKESY AUDIOGRAMS obtained from cochlear pathology subjects to determine which method was the better indicator of cochlear pathology. The two methods compared were: (1) Jerger's type II, which is based upon the difference (D) between the client's threshold for the interrupted-tone tracing and the threshold for the continuous-tone tracing; and (2) Bilger's Wc, which is the swing width of the continuous tone tracing for 4,000 Hz. Results indicated that D classified 62% of the audiograms (39) correctly, and Wc classified 52% of the audiograms (32) correctly. Both measures jointly classified 37% of the audiograms (23) correctly and jointly missed 23% of the audiograms (14). Statistical analysis showed no difference between the two methods in classifying cochlear pathology.