A Clinical Method For Calibrating the Bone-Conduction Audiometer

Abstract

The clinician who wishes to make full use of pure-tone audiograms needs a valid and simple method for ensuring that the calibration for his bone-conduction system is adequate. Unfortunately, we lack a standard procedure whereby the physicist can specify for us the vibrational output representing bone-conduction norms.^* For the time being the clinician must therefore rely upon his own efforts to assure himself that his bone measurements are acceptable. Even after a physical standard is established, the need will remain for an easy and adequate method of checking calibration in a clinical situation. There are three calibrational methods from which the clinician can choose. The first method utilizes loudness balancing, the second is based on thresholds yielded by normal listeners, while the third relies on the responses of cases with sensorineural (or nerve-type) loss. The loudness-balance method is advocated by Beranek as a means of transferring air-conduction norms to a