Welcome to our TJ Audiology Training online tutorial on Masking in Audiometry Theory
Suitable for audiologists or hearing aid dispensers who carry out audiometry routinely in their role, this 1 day training course will review the 3 rules of masking used during pure tone audiometry according to BSA procedures (please see information below regarding Masking rule 3).
You’ve finally understood the Hughson-Westlake protocol for how to do air conduction and bone conduction. You have mastered the reduction in sound by 10dB and increase in 5 dB until you get 2 out of 3/4/5 rising responses. But this only tells you so much. If the bone conduction is more than 10dB worse than the air conduction then potential something is affecting the conduction of sound to the cochlear. Or what happens if the bad ear is a lot worse than the good ear. We know that the good ear may end up helping the worse ear and giving us a result on the worst hearing ear that is better than it is in reality.
This is why we do masking. Masking is the use of a narrow band noise to mask out the non-test ear so that we can see what the test ear is truly hearing.
Masking is not something that you become proficient in within days, it often takes weeks to actually feel comfortable doing masking proficiently and even longer to feel confident.
We have tried to make sure the tutorial teaches you masking in a way that enables you to understand the concepts related to masking so that when you do mask the procedures make sense and therefore easier to remember.
Hopefully when you then try masking in your workplace or at university, it won’t seem like learning a foreign language and be impossible to do and understand
This course will cover the following:
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- Theory of cross hearing and inter-aural attenuation
- How and when to employ masking as part of routine audiometry
- How to create a masking chart and grid
- Symbols used in masking, and how to record your masking appropriately
- Example audiograms and interpretation of masking charts
- Practice audiometry and masking on each other / simulated.
Please take a look at our training calendar for details of all our upcoming courses. To book a place on this course, please complete an online booking form
Masking Rule 3: This is the rule that many people scratch their head over, mainly because it can be difficult to see, but also because it doesn’t come up that often (and generally only in more complex cases). Therefore, if you’re used to testing routine cases you may not have to think about rule 3 very much. That’s why it’s good to refresh your knowledge so that you don’t miss it when it does come along. Completing rule 3 means that your hearing test will be more accurate; the end result may affect your diagnosis and also your hearing aid prescription. Read more here.