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Semin Hear 2014; 35(04): 329-345
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1390162
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Bone-Conduction Calibration

Robert H. Margolis
1   Department of Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2   Audiology Incorporated, Arden Hills, Minnesota
,
Gerald R. Popelka
3   Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
28 October 2014 (online)

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Abstract

The audiogram is one of the most powerful tests in health care. It is one of the few that can lead to a diagnosis on its own. Bone-conduction testing gives the audiogram its diagnostic power. Bone-conduction audiometry requires calibration methods that are expensive, cumbersome, and often misunderstood. Because the stimulus is a mechanical vibration, the quantities that are measured (force and acceleration) differ from the sound pressure measurements used to calibrate air-conducted tonal and speech stimuli. This article reviews the history of bone-conduction testing from its Renaissance beginnings, standard and alternative bone-conduction calibration methods, problems in current calibration standards, and the measurement of the performance of wearable and surgical bone-conduction hearing devices.

Keywords

Artificial mastoid - bone-conduction - calibration - mechanical impedance - tuning fork tests
 

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