Using a prototype high-frequency audiometer, auditory thresholds in the 8- to 20-kHz range were obtained from 240 subjects ranging in age from 10-60 years. These measurements were obtained in interest of developing a normative database for frequencies above 8 kHz, and to evaluate intersubject variability as a function of age. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant effects of frequency, age, and sex, and a significant frequency-by-age interaction. The largest changes in sensitivity with age occurred between 40 to 59 years. Below approximately 15 kHz, the intersubject variability of threshold estimates increased as a function of both age and frequency. Further analysis revealed that the age-related changes in variability were related to absolute thresholds rather than to age per se. When data are converted to dB HL (relative to the youngest group tested), the region of maximum hearing loss shifts to lower frequencies with increasing age, and threshold shifts with age are greatest in the 13- to 17-kHz range.

This study was designed to evaluate both intra- and intertester reliability of auditory thresholds in the 8- to 20-kHz range using a recently developed high-frequency audiometer [Stevens et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, 470-484 (1987)]. With this device, signals from a high-frequency transducer are introduced into the ear canal via a plastic tube. A calibration function is calculated for each ear and used to estimate the sound-pressure level (SPL) at the tympanic membrane. Twenty normal-hearing listeners were tested four times, twice by each of two examiners. In the higher frequencies, accurate calibration functions could not be obtained for many subjects; in these cases, values extrapolated from lower frequencies were used to estimate SPL. Findings reveal that the standard error of measurement for both intra- and intertester measures increases as a function of frequency. Intertester variability was only slightly higher than intratester variability. In most cases, variability of threshold estimates in dB SPL was higher than that observed for the uncorrected attenuator settings. Exclusion of extrapolated values improved reliability substantially.

This study compared the reliability of a recently developed high-frequency audiometer (HFA) [Stevens et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, 470-484 (1987)] with a less complicated system that uses supraaural earphones (Koss system). The new approach permits calibration on an individual basis, making it possible to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL. Data obtained from 50 normal-hearing subjects, ranging in age from 10-60 years, were used to evaluate the effects on reliability of threshold variance, earpiece/earphone fitting variance, and the variance associated with the HFA calibration process. Without earpiece/earphone replacement, the reliability of thresholds for the two systems is similar. With replacement, the HFA showed poorer reliability than the Koss system above 11 kHz, largely due to errors in estimating the calibration function. HFA reliability is greater for subjects with valid calibration functions over the entire frequency range. When average correction factors are applied to the Koss data in an effort to convert threshold estimates to dB SPL, individual transfer functions are not represented accurately. Thus the benefit of being able to express thresholds at high frequencies in dB SPL must be weighed against the additional source of variability introduced by the HFA calibration process.

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