Reliability of High Frequency Audiometry Threshold in Children

Background and Aim: High frequency audiometry (HFA) provides a valuable tool and optimal index for distinguishing and monitoring many pathologies of the ear. The purpose of this study was to measure the reliability of HFA threshold in children. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 normal-hearing children, of 7 to 13 years old, including 50 boys and 50 girls were examined with a Belton 2000 audiometer and Sennheiser HD 250 earphones in Pediatric Clinic, Audiology Dept. , Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Results: The threshold differences between right and left ears in two test sessions were not significantly different except for 14 KHz. HFA threshold in two test sessions showed no significant difference in all frequencies between girls and boys but 16 and 20 KHz in right ear and 10 KHz in left ear. Conclusion: The test-retest thresholds for individual ears showed ±0-10 dB SPL for difference at least in 99.74 % of ears at all frequencies that are clinically reliable and acceptable.