Using a Variety of Signals to Improve Real-Ear Testing
Heather Robson · Trends in Amplification · 2001
Due to the rapid growth of new technologies available in the hearing aid industry, hearing aid testing has become a more complicated issue, and the companies that produce hearing aid analyzers have had to adapt their instruments to meet new needs. Though some in the industry continue to debate the effectiveness of real ear testing, many organizations, such as ASHA, continue to advocate real ear fitting as an important procedure (ASHA ad hoc committee, 1998). However, the increasing number of new technologies can complicate real ear verification. For instance, digital hearing aids with background noise filters don't test well with pure tones or with a continuous noise signal (Frye, 2000). Inevitably the increase in hearing aid technology has led to the development of the means to test those technologies. New test formats and new test signals have been introduced over the past few years. The FONIX line of hearing aid analyzers has several signals available beyond the simple pure tone sweep.