Chapter 5. The use of ECHOSOFT software
5.6 Audiometry on ECHOSOFT
There are three different modes for setting the acoustic stimulation characteristics:
•
Move the mouse cursor over the graphics and click to start the stimulation. The
"Enter"
key is used to validate the
patient response,
•
Control the interface with the keyboard (See paragraph
),
•
Use the side panel described below.
1.
Choice of the tested frequency (Can be chosen with the
"left"
and
"right"
arrows
-
see paragraph
2.
Starts the stimulation (Can be started with the
"space bar
",
3.
Choice of the liminal tone audiometry mode or Weber test in the case of bone conduction,
4.
Launching the automatic mode, (See paragraph
-
When the
"Autonomous patient mode"
box is ticked, the operator no longer has control, only when the
patient presses the response handle is the response validated. If the autonomous mode is not activated, the
operator must validate the patient's response.
-
The automatic mode can be stopped at any time by clicking on the same button,
5.
Choice of the patient response (The
"Enter"
key corresponds to a click on the
"Yes"
button
)
,
6.
Plays an explanatory message in the patient's headset. This message describes the measurement procedure and
gives an example of stimulation,
7.
- Stimulation power selection slider (can be selected with the
"up"
and
"down"
arrows
)
,
•
Click on an image to select the ear being tested, (Can be selected with the
"L/R"
keys.)
8.
The entire green area is dedicated to masking noise. In the upper part, the power and frequency band of the noise
are indicated. Just below, the "
Continuous masking"
box allows you to have permanent masking (if it is not ticked,
masking starts at the same time as stimulation). The lower part consists of the masking mode selection tabs, and
the corresponding setting:
•
Differential mode: The value set with the slider corresponds to the difference between the stimulation power
and the masking power (e.g. with a differential of -30dB, for a stimulation at 80dB, we obtain a masking at
50dB),
•
Manual mode: The value set with the slider corresponds to the masking strength.
9.
The
'Headset'
button allows you to see which stimulator is active and to switch between the two audio outputs.
To avoid any noise that might give an indication to the patient and affect the results of the measures, the
computer used for the tests should be equipped with a silent keyboard and mouse.