Mathematics of Hearing Tests

Most school age children have a simple hearing test given to insure that they can hear the lessons presented. Most hearing tests have a person sit in a soundproof room with headphones on their head. When the person being tested hears a beep, they raise their hand. The machine used is called a pure-tone audiometer. The beeps represent frequencies measured in decibels. The audiologist is trying to record numerically the lowest number of decibels used to find the threshold for air conduction and bone conduction. This information is grafted on an audiogram.