From Dr M.N.

Nagaraja / July 2009

SPECIFICATIONS FOR AUDIOMETERS

Standards provide specifications about the features to be found in each type of

audiometer. Equipment should be maintained according to manufacturer's
specifications and recommendations. Instruments are properly calibrated at
recommended intervals and calibration records are maintained. The specific
parameters – must be checked.
These are outlined in standards provided by ANSI, IEC. ASA & ANSI both list & sell
IEC & ISO standards. In general, the ANSI, ISO, & IEC standards are in close
agreement.

Standards for Audiometers include ANSI S3.6 1996. The specification were
developed in 1969, revised in 1989 & again revised in 1996. There were further
revisions in 2004. The ANSI S3.6-1996 Specification for Audiometers represents our
most current and best resource for information regarding audiometers. It also contains
reference threshold levels for all commonly used transducers in one standard.

The ICE (1980) classifies the audiometers as under:

• Type 1 – Advanced Diagnostic Audiometer
• Type 2 - Diagnostic Audiometer
• Type 3 – Simple Diagnostic audiometer
• Type 4 – Screening Audiometer
• Type 5 – Simplest Audiometer

The minimum requirements for the audiometers decrease from type 1 to type 5.
Type 1 includes many features. In comparison, the Type 5 has no required minimum
or maximum features.

Minimum required Pure Tone Speech

features

  1 2 3 4 5 HF A B C

Transducers                  
Two earphones Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Insert earphones Yes No No No No No No No No
Loudspeakers or electrical Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No
output
Bone vibrator Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No
Hearing Levels, Test                  
Frequencies
  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No
Test Signal Switching                  
Presentation / interruption Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pulsed tone Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No

Frequency modulation Yes Yes No No No No No No No

(FM)
Reference Tone                  
Alternate presentation Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Simultaneous Yes No No No No No No No No
presentation
Speech Input                  
Replay device No No No No No No No No No
Or electrical Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Input for recorded
material
Microphone No No No No No No Yes Yes No
Masking                  
Narrow band noise Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No
White noise Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Speech Spectrum noise No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Routing of Masking                  
Contralaterial earphone Yes Yes Yes No N Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ipsilateral earphone Yes No No No No No Yes No No
Loudspeaker Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No
Routing of Masking                  
Contralateral earphone Yes Yes Yes No N Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ipsilateral earphone Yes No No No No No Yes No No
Loudspeaker Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No
Bone Vibrator Yes No No No No N No No No
Subject Response Yes Yes Ys Yes No Yes Yes No No
System
Signal indicator Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Audible Monitoring Yes No No No No No Yes Yes No
Operator to subject Yes No No No No No Yes No No
speech communication
Talk Back system No No No No No No Yes Yes No
                   

  Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4

Freq AC BC AC BC AC BC AC
(Hz)
125 70 - 60 - - - -
250 90 45 80 45 70 35 -
500 120 60 110 60 100 50 70
750 120 60 - - - - -
1000 120 70 110 70 100 60 70
1500 120 70 110 70 - - -
2000 120 70 110 70 100 60 70
3000 120 70 110 70 100 60 70
4000 120 60 110 60 100 50 70
6000 110 50 100 - 90 - 70
8000 100 - 90 - 80 - -
Table 2: Minimum required freq. and HLs for Pure Tone Audiometers
(ANSI S 3.6, 1996)

TYPE 4 - AUDIOMETER

• Technical specifications:
• Hearing Level Range: -10 to 90 dB HL in 5 dB steps
• Tone Stimulus: Pure tone
• Frequency Range: 125 to 8,000 Hz
• Accuracy:
a) Frequencies: better than ± 3%
b) Hearing Level: within ± 3 dB of indicated level from 125 to 5000Hz & ±5
dB at 6000 Hz and higher.
• Total Harmonic Distortion: < 2%
• Standards: EN 60645-1 for Audiometers, Type 4
• Calibration: IEC 645, ANSI S3.6 for Type 4 audiometers.

TYPE 3- SIMPLE DIAGNOSTIC AUDIOMETER

• Single Channel: one oscillator.

• (Variation includes Channel and a half: tone to one ear & masking noise to the
opposite ear.
• The spilt half single channel: ABLB).
• Outputs: Phones, bone, insert, free-field
• loudspeaker via ext. amplifier
• Tone Stimuli: Pure, pulsed or warble tones
• Frequency Range: Air, FF: 125 to 8,000 Hz
• Bone: 250 to 6,000 Hz
• Masking Signals: Contralateral; Speech Noise or Narrow Band Noise
• Hearing Level Range: (maximum output limited by transducer capability)
• Air: -10 to 120-125 dB HL at 500 - 6000 Hz
• Bone: -10 to 70 - 80 dB HL at 500 - 4000 Hz
• Speech Input: Microphone or CD/Tape 1-2
• Special Tests: S.I.S.I., Stenger, Auto Threshold, Auto Screening.
• Power Supply: AC 50-60 Hz, 100 -120 V or 200 - 240 V, ± 10%
• Patient Safety: Complies with EN 60601-1, Class I, Type B
Standard Accessories:
• Patient Response Signal, ME70 Noise-Excluding Headset w. TDH39/TDH49
or TDH50 Earphones, in telephonic type cushions
• Insert phones
• Bone Vibrator (B71)
• Calibration: ANSI S3.6 & IEC 645:1 & 2 for Type 3 audiometers.

TYPE 2- DIAGNOSTIC AUDIOMETER

PURE TONE – CHANNELS 1 & 2

Frequency Range:
• Air: 125 Hz to 12,000 Hz
 • High Frequency: 8,000Hz to 20,000Hz
• Bone: 250 Hz to 8,000 Hz
• Sound Field: 250 Hz to 12,000 Hz
Intensity range
• Air Conduction: -10dB HL to 120dB HL
• High Frequency: -20dB HL to 100dB HL (Sennheiser DA 200 phones)
• Bone Conduction: Mastoid -10 to 80dB HL
Forehead -20 to 70dB HL
• Sound Field: -10dB HL to 90dB HL
• Inserts: -10 to 110dB HL
Masking intensity range
• EL Calibration
• NBN: Maximum 0- 100dB HL
• WN: Maximum 0 - 90dB HL
Tone stimuli
• Continuous Tone
• Pulse Tone
• warble tones
Speech & sound field
• Channel 1 & Channel 2
• Microphone for live voice
• External A & External B for recorded speech material from external stereo
tape cassette or CD player
• Intensity range – AC -10 to 105dB HL
BC -10 to 65dB HL
• Sound Field -10 to 90dB HL
• Inserts -10 to 95dB HL
• Masking Intensity Range: Speech Noise
• 0 to +100dB HL in 10 dB HL steps
Special test capabilities
• ABLB , SISI, MLD
• High Frequency: Frequency range of 8000 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Communications & monitoring
• Talk Forward
• Talk Back
• Monitor
Accessories
• Head phones TDH 39 (49/50)
• Bone Vibrator B71
• Test Microphones
• Talk Back Microphones
• Power Cords
• Instruction Manual
• Sound Field System
• Paired Insert Phones (Ear tone 3A)
• High Frequency Head Phones

Frequencies and Maximum Hearing Levels:

Hz AC dBHL BC dBHL NB dBHL

 125 90   80
250 110 45 100
500 120 65 100
1000 120/130 70 110
2000 120 75 110
3000 120 80 110
4000 120 80 110
6000 120 55 110
8000 120 50 100

TYPE 1 - AUDIOMETER WITH EXTENDED HIGH FREQUENCY

Standards:
• EN 60645-1, EN 60645-2, EN 60645-4/ANSI S. 3.6.
• Calibration: ISO389-1, ISO389-2, ISO 389-3, ISO 389-4.
Channels: Two independent channels.
• Channel 1: Input: Tone, Microphone 1&2, Tape/CD 1&2, NB, SN, WN, PN.
Output:
• Channel 2: Input: Tone, Microphone 1+2, Tape/CD, 1&2, NB, SN, WN, PN.
Output for both channels:
• Left, Right, Free Field 1+2, Insert phones, HF-phones, Insert masking.
Test Types:
• Tone , Speech,
• Auto thresholds, Bekesy test,
• Difference Limen Intensity, Difference Limen Frequency,
• Loudness Balancing, Difference masked unmasked, Weber, ABLB. TT
Decay,
• Masking Level Difference, MLB, SISI
• Stenger, Lombard, Doerfler-Stewart
• Sound Field
Accessories
• TDH39 (49/50) Headset
• B71 Bone Conductor
• High Frequency Headset
• Audiocup Enclosures
• EAR-Tone 5A Insert Phones for audiometry
• Insert Earphone for masking and monitoring

Specifications of basic model audiometer are listed below:

Frequency range:
Air conduction (AC) : 250Hz, 500 Hz, 1KHz, 2KHz, 4KHz, 6KHz and 8KHz
Bone conduction (BC) : 250Hz, 500 Hz, 1KHz, 2KHz, 4KHz,

Intensity range:
Air conduction (AC) : 0dB to 110dB
Bone conduction (BC) : 0dB to 70dB

Noise type : Narrow band noise & white noise

Levels : 0 dB to 100dB
Input for Speech : live voice / recorded voice
Levels : 0 dB to 100dB

V.U meter & : Transducers: i) 2 supra aural head-phone for sound field
testing other controls with rubber ear cushion and head band – one
each for
separate ears considered equivalent to TDH 39.
ii) Bone conduction Vibrator Type Radio ear B71 or
equivalent

Routing of signal : either to Right ear or left

Selector for signal routing: A. Head Phones Right/Left/or Bone Vibrator.

B.Tone or speech

Signal selection : Continuous tone or Pulsed tone or warble tone

Attenuation : In 5 dB steps; after 100 dB a change in intensity will be

Separately controlled by push button increase of 5 dB
till the maximum (pushing button will result in only
single step increase).