Insert earphones for audiometry: applications, advantages, and limitations.

The measurement of hearing sensitivity during audiometry requires precise presentation of auditory stimuli. In most cases, these stimuli are introduced to the listener via standard earphones. Technical problems associated with these earphones have troubled clinicians for years. An alternative earphone system for audiometry was introduced that uses shoulder-worn transducers with inserts for connection with the external auditory canal. Although insert earphones are not intended to supplant standard earphones, experimental evidence and clinical observations support the advantageousness of these earphones under a variety of clinical conditions.