Adaptive expert system for audiologists

Presently audiological investigations are done in a speciality hospital and the test results are analyzed and diagnosed by the audiologists. However, the fact remains that most of us do not undergo regular checking for hearing due to the reasons of inconvenient timing and ease of accessibility. The object of this work is to design and develop a computerized audiometer, which could be effectively used for mass screening of level of hearing impairment instead of the conventional audiometer. This would be user friendly, cost effective and efficient in terms of analysis, data storage and maintenance. The present work successfully enables subjects to conduct hearing screening tests fully with the help of multimedia computers without any additional accessories. The audiological tests could be conducted regularly so as to facilitate the early detection of hearing loss at home or any place and time convenient to the user. At first, the design requirements for a digital hearing aid is being arrived by using the standard Real Ear Insertion Gain (REIG) formulae followed in Australia and European countries. Subsequently, based on the estimated value of minimum threshold of hearing arrived from this proposed set up, in addition to inputs from expert audiologists, the REIG formula could be made distinct for every language.