Audiometers & Hearing Assessment Equipment
Diagnostic instruments used to measure hearing sensitivity, identify hearing loss type, and calibrate hearing aids.
What it is
About Audiometers & Hearing Assessment Equipment
Audiometers are calibrated electronic instruments that deliver pure tones, speech signals, and masking noise to assess hearing across frequencies from 250 Hz to 8 kHz and beyond. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) produces an audiogram — the foundational diagnostic document of hearing loss — by finding the quietest tone a patient can detect at each frequency in each ear. Clinical audiologists use additional tests alongside PTA: tympanometry (middle ear function), acoustic reflexes, otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), and auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. In the NHS, hearing assessment equipment is used by audiologists and audiology assistants in hospital departments, community audiology services, and newborn hearing screening programmes. Key equipment manufacturers include Interacoustics, MAICO, and Otometrics (Natus). Equipment must be calibrated annually to BS EN ISO 8253 standards, and audiologists are responsible for calibration documentation, patient positioning, masking technique, and audiogram interpretation. These are high-skill, regulated clinical tasks that cannot be automated.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
Conduct a pure tone audiometry (PTA) test and plot thresholds on a standard audiogram.
Apply masking correctly to prevent the non-test ear from responding during bone conduction testing.
Perform tympanometry to assess middle ear function and classify the tympanogram (A, B, C types).
Screen a newborn using OAE equipment and document a pass or refer outcome.
Calibrate an audiometer using the calibration check procedure and document the result.
Interpret an audiogram to distinguish conductive, sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss.
How to learn it
Learning Resources
BSc or MSc Audiology programmes (accredited by British Academy of Audiology) provide hands-on audiometer training.
NHS audiology assistant apprenticeship programmes include equipment operation as a core practical competency.
Interacoustics and Otometrics offer free online training modules and webinars via their websites.
British Society of Audiology (BSA) recommended procedures are free to download and are the UK clinical standard.
Pro Tip
Always check the audiometer calibration certificate is current before a clinic session — using an out-of-calibration device can invalidate diagnostic results and is a governance risk.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool