Distribution characteristics of normal pure-tone thresholds

dc.contributor.authorMargolis, Robert H.
dc.contributor.authorWilson, Richard H.
dc.contributor.authorPopelka, Gerald R.
dc.contributor.authorEikelboom, Robert H.
dc.contributor.authorSwanepoel, De Wet
dc.contributor.authorSaly, George L.
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-26T09:49:27Z
dc.date.issued2015-05
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVE : This study examined the statistical properties of normal air-conduction thresholds obtained with automated and manual audiometry to test the hypothesis that thresholds are normally distributed and to examine the distributions for evidence of bias in manual testing. DESIGN : Four databases were mined for normal thresholds. One contained audiograms obtained with an automated method. The other three were obtained with manual audiometry. Frequency distributions were examined for four test frequencies (250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz). STUDY SAMPLE : The analysis is based on 317 569 threshold determinations of 80 547 subjects from four clinical databases. RESULTS : Frequency distributions of thresholds obtained with automated audiometry are normal in form. Corrected for age, the mean thresholds are within 1.5 dB of reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels. Frequency distributions of thresholds obtained by manual audiometry are shifted toward higher thresholds. Two of the three datasets obtained by manual audiometry are positively skewed. CONCLUSIONS : The positive shift and skew of the manual audiometry data may result from tester bias. The striking scarcity of thresholds below 0 dB HL suggests that audiologists place less importance on identifying low thresholds than they do for higher-level thresholds. We refer to this as the Good enough bias and suggest that it may be responsible for differences in distributions of thresholds obtained by automated and manual audiometry.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentSpeech-Language Pathology and Audiologyen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2016-05-31
dc.description.librarianhb2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipBy grant RC3DC010986 from the National Institutes of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The Rehabilitation Research and Development Service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs supported this work through the Auditory and Vestibular Dysfunction Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) and a Senior Research Career Scientist.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iija20en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRobert H. Margolis, Richard H. Wilson, Gerald R. Popelka, Robert H.Eikelboom, De Wet Swanepoel & George L. Saly (2015) Distribution characteristics of normal pure-tone thresholds, International Journal of Audiology, 54:11, 796-805, DOI: 10.3109/14992027.2015.1033656.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1499-2027 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1708-8186 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.3109/14992027.2015.1033656
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/52164
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherTaylor and Francisen_ZA
dc.rights© 2015 British Society of Audiology, International Society of Audiology, and Nordic Audiological Society. This is an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Audiology, vol. 54, no. 11, pp. 796-805, 2015. doi : 10.3109/14992027.2015.1033656. International Journal of Audiology is available online at : www.tandfonline.com/loi/iija20.en_ZA
dc.subjectAudiometryen_ZA
dc.subjectAutomated audiometryen_ZA
dc.subjectPure-tone thresholdsen_ZA
dc.subjectHearingen_ZA
dc.subjectNormal hearingen_ZA
dc.subjectHearing testen_ZA
dc.subjectAir conductionen_ZA
dc.subjectThresholden_ZA
dc.subjectBiasen_ZA
dc.titleDistribution characteristics of normal pure-tone thresholdsen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Margolis_Distribution_2015.pdf
Size:
525.51 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Postprint article

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: