Influence of the type of acoustic transducer in pure-tone audiometry.
Nathália Montandon Born, Mariane da Silva Marciano, Stephanie da Costa Mass and 2 others
PMID 35019084WHAT IT FOUND
Circumaural earphones produced better hearing thresholds than insert earphones at most frequencies, including 250, 500, 2000, and 6000 Hz.
Insert earphones were better at 3000 and 4000 Hz. Participants significantly preferred circumaural earphones for comfort.
Key findings
01Circumaural earphones yielded significantly better air-conduction hearing thresholds than insert earphones at all tested frequencies except 1000 and 8000 Hz.
02Insert earphones demonstrated better thresholds than circumaural earphones specifically at 3000 and 4000 Hz.
0365.4% of participants reported the circumaural transducer as the most comfortable, a preference that was statistically significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study could not definitively separate differences caused by the earphone type from normal test-retest variability. The sample consisted only of healthy young adults (18-30 years) with normal hearing, so results may not apply to older adults or those with hearing loss. Supra-aural earphones, the most common type in clinical practice, were not included in the comparison. The sample size was small (26 participants).
Declared interests
The paper does not report any conflicts of interest or funding sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume circumaural earphones are superior at all frequencies. The study found that insert earphones actually provided better hearing thresholds at 3000 and 4000 Hz.