AAO-HNSF Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel

Calibration

• Calibration is the process of making sure audiometric equipment is functioning as it should be

• Calibration ensures that a patient can be tested in any clinic anywhere with virtually the same results, and the physician in any practice can be confident that tests results from another site are accurate

AAO-HNS/F

Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel Workshop

28

Calibration

• All equipment must meet standards set by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) using calibration techniques specified by these bodies

• Ensures that if the audiometer dial reads 50 dB at 1000Hz, that the output is exactly that

AAO-HNS/F

Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel Workshop

29

Calibration • Calibration can be either: –Electroacoustic: using a sound level meter • Should be performed once a year • If the transducer is changed • If a problem is noted

• Requires expensive equipment such as a sound level meter and an artificial mastoid –Biologic: using human ears with known normal hearing • Should be performed weekly

AAO-HNS/F

Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel Workshop

30