OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in thresholds obtained under Sennheiser HDA200 circumaural earphones using pure tone, equivalent rectangular noise bands, and 1/3 octave noise bands relative to thresholds obtained using Telephonics TDH-39P supra-aural earphones. DESIGN: Thresholds were obtained via each transducer and stimulus condition six times within a 10-day period. STUDY SAMPLE: Forty-nine adults were selected from a prior study to represent low, moderate, and high threshold reliability. RESULTS: The results suggested that (1) only small adjustments were needed to reach equivalent TDH-39P thresholds, (2) pure-tone thresholds obtained with HDA200 circumaural earphones had reliability equal to or better than those obtained using TDH-39P earphones, (3) the reliability of noise-band thresholds improved with broader stimulus bandwidth and was either equal to or better than pure-tone thresholds, and (4) frequency-specificity declined with stimulus bandwidths greater than one equivalent rectangular band, which could complicate early detection of hearing changes that occur within a narrow frequency range. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that circumaural earphones such as the HDA200 headphones provide better reliability for audiometric testing as compared to the TDH-39P earphones. These data support the use of noise bands, preferably ERB noises, as stimuli for audiometric monitoring.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in thresholds obtained under Sennheiser HDA200 circumaural earphones using pure tone, equivalent rectangular noise bands, and 1/3 octave noise bands relative to thresholds obtained using Telephonics TDH-39P supra-aural earphones. DESIGN: Thresholds were obtained via each transducer and stimulus condition six times within a 10-day period. STUDY SAMPLE: Forty-nine adults were selected from a prior study to represent low, moderate, and high threshold reliability. RESULTS: The results suggested that (1) only small adjustments were needed to reach equivalent TDH-39P thresholds, (2) pure-tone thresholds obtained with HDA200 circumaural earphones had reliability equal to or better than those obtained using TDH-39P earphones, (3) the reliability of noise-band thresholds improved with broader stimulus bandwidth and was either equal to or better than pure-tone thresholds, and (4) frequency-specificity declined with stimulus bandwidths greater than one equivalent rectangular band, which could complicate early detection of hearing changes that occur within a narrow frequency range. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that circumaural earphones such as the HDA200 headphones provide better reliability for audiometric testing as compared to the TDH-39P earphones. These data support the use of noise bands, preferably ERB noises, as stimuli for audiometric monitoring.
Authors: E H Berger; J R Franks; A Behar; J G Casali; C Dixon-Ernst; R W Kieper; C J Merry; B T Mozo; C W Nixon; D Ohlin; J D Royster; L H Royster Journal: J Acoust Soc Am Date: 1998-02 Impact factor: 1.840
Authors: Gregory A Flamme; Mark R Stephenson; Kristy K Deiters; Amanda Hessenauer; Devon K VanGessel; Kyle Geda; Krista Wyllys; Kara D McGregor Journal: Int J Audiol Date: 2014-03 Impact factor: 2.117
Authors: Odile H Clavier; James A Norris; David W Hinckley; William Hal Martin; Shi Yuan Lee; Sigfrid D Soli; Douglas S Brungart; Jaclyn R Schurman; Erik Larsen; Golbarg Mehraei; Tera M Quigley Journal: J Acoust Soc Am Date: 2022-07 Impact factor: 2.482
Authors: Lisa L Hunter; Brian B Monson; David R Moore; Sumitrajit Dhar; Beverly A Wright; Kevin J Munro; Lina Motlagh Zadeh; Chelsea M Blankenship; Samantha M Stiepan; Jonathan H Siegel Journal: Hear Res Date: 2020-02-18 Impact factor: 3.208