MASKER

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This is usually an integral part of a pure tone audiometer used for hearing tests in an audiology department. In audiometry, the performance of each ear is determined separately and the situation often arises (particularly in bone conduction tests) when the operator is not certain which ear is picking up the sound. Masking noise introduced into the non-test ear serves to make it temporarily deaf and so unable to detect the sounds directed to the test ear. When testing with pure tones (single frequencies) the masking noise is usually a narrow band of noise centred around the test frequency. In speech tests the masker may be wide band noise or 'speech shaped' noise.

The same problem arises when tuning fork tests are conducted by the ENT specialist. These crude tests have correspondingly crude maskers, for example rubbing a sheet of paper near the patient's non-test ear or using a device called a Barany box (see separate entry).

A tinnitus masker is a hearing aid-like device worn by patients suffering from tinnitus in order to cover up (mask) their own ear or head noises with an external masking noise.

Maskers are also used in the treatment of stammering (see Edinburgh masker). In this case the object is to prevent the subject from hearing his own voice.