Ultrasonics in clinical audiometry

Abstract

Several investigators (Wegal 1932) Wever and Lawrence (1954); Deetherage
et al, (1954), Corso and Oda (1961), Haaff and Knox (1963) have reported on
human auditory responses to sounds of frequencies even above 10,000 HZ and
upto 100,000 HZ. Corso (1965) while studying the phenomenon of high frequency
and ultrasonic hearing obtained DLS for pitch and loudness at various
frequencies both by air and bone conduction. Even as evidences of cochlear
function at high and ultrasonic frequencies are being obtained clinicians have
started speculating about the possible uses of hearing in these frequencies as a
diagnostic tool. The purpose of this article is to discuss (1) the problems involved
in the production, transmission and calibration of sonic and ultrasonic sounds
(2) some of the studies made on the pitch and loudness discrimination functions
of cochlear at high and ultrasonic frequencies and finally (3) some of the possible
uses of these frequencies in the diagnosis of auditory impairments.