The computerized audiology clinic.

Abstract

Computer-assisted audiologic testing is undergoing a transition from laboratory settings to audiology clinics, resulting in increased accuracy, efficiency, and sophistication in the evaluation and treatment of patients. The computerized clinic also offers superior information storage and analysis capabilities and increasingly significant economic advantages. Implementation of new test techniques with software modification, rather than expensive new electronic instrumentation, is an advantage unique to the computer-based audiologic system. Decisions regarding the selection from a variety of system architecture designs and human interface schemes are critically important and unique to this new technology. The replacement of traditional audiometric instruments with computer-controlled systems will accelerate as system sophistication increases and cost continues to decrease.