Apherma Corporation

Introduction

Hearing Loss

Hearing Evaluation

Hearing Aid

Apherma Solutions

Hearing Evaluation

The fitting of hearing aids begins with audiometry–the measurement of hearing–probably at the office of a hearing-health-care professional. Commonly, a pure-tone-hearing test is used to obtain hearing thresholds at a number of frequencies (e.g., 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz). The results are normally plotted and reported in the standard form of an audiogram. Figure 2 shows an example of an audiogram. Based on the audiogram, the hearing professional can determine how much speech information is lost as a result of hearing loss. The audiogram can also be used to suggest how hearing-aid amplification should be applied at different frequencies to maximize the recovery of the lost speech information.

Fig 2. Audiogram showing the hearing threshold (red curve) of an impaired ear. The gray area marks where the energy of conversational speech could spread over intensity and frequency. The portion of the area above the hearing threshold (i.e., the red curve) is inaudible to the ear, resulting in a reduced speech-intelligence index (SII) of 0.55. The yellow area marks where the energy of a conversational speech could spread over intensity and frequency AFTER amplification. The amplification moves a significant portion of the inaudible speech energy above threshold, improving the SII to 0.78.

For the majority of the hearing impaired population, probably the biggest step towards their rehabilitation is the hearing test. Only a small proportion of hearing-impaired people have had the opportunity to have their hearing tested, and much fewer have gone on to be fitted with hearing aids. There are different reasons why hearing testing is not more common, but one thing is certain; many more patients will be tested if there is audiometric test that is more convenient than traditionally available.

Apherma has pioneered an On-Line Hearing Test, which provides an approximate yet convenient way for people to test their hearing on the Internet, by simply visiting www.apherma.com. Through this test, the visitor will be presented with a preliminary assessment of their hearing profile, along with the recommendation of a subsequent visit, if necessary, to a hearing-health-care professional. With this On-line audiometric test, Apherma presents the hearing-aid industry the best chance or reaching out to the vast majority of the hearing impaired population who are still unaided.