Hearing check system

Abstract

To provide a technology which appropriately and easily measures audibility.SOLUTION: An audibility checker 100 calculates Mahalanobis distance d between an observed value vector having hearing ability threshold of each frequency measured as an element and each class vector having average value of the hearing ability threshold of each frequency in each age group as an element in a feature space of large-scale hearing ability data by a numerical formula shown in Figure 4 (B), and determines the age group whose Mahalanobis distance d is the smallest as an audibility age of a subject. For a coefficient vector a, vector σ with standard deviation of hearing ability threshold of each frequency in each age group is substituted, so that it is possible to relatively reduce diverse weight of frequency, and as a result, to appropriately determine an audibility age. This determination is based on the large-scale hearing ability data, so that the subject can check his / her audibility age without inviting medical misunderstanding. Also, because operation to request the subject in the process of measurement is easy, anyone can reliably perform operation and naturally accept measurement without a feeling of resistance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Claims

[Claim 1] A signal output section that amplifies the sound signal to a specified sound pressure level and outputs it, Headphones that present sound, An operating unit that receives the subject's response to the sound presented from the headphones, A control unit that measures hearing thresholds for multiple frequencies, in which it changes the specified sound pressure level in accordance with the response and determines the hearing threshold for the frequency of the sound signal based on the response made to the presented sound after the change, An analysis unit calculates the distance between a vector whose elements are the measured hearing thresholds for each frequency in the feature space of predetermined large-scale hearing data and a vector whose elements are statistical values ​​regarding the hearing thresholds for each frequency in each age group based on the large-scale hearing data, taking into account the mean and standard deviation of the hearing thresholds for each frequency in each age group, and determines the hearing age of the subject based on the distance. Equipped with, The control unit, A hearing check system characterized by using the average hearing threshold value of an age group older than the subject's actual age as the sound pressure level at the start of measurement when measuring hearing thresholds for each frequency. [Claim 2] In the hearing check system according to claim 1, The aforementioned analysis unit is A hearing check system characterized by determining the age group with the smallest distance as the subject's hearing age. [Claim 3] In the hearing check system according to claim 1 or 2, A microphone that captures ambient sounds, An ambient sound measurement unit calculates the difference in sound pressure levels between the ambient sound and the presented sound based on the spectrum of the ambient sound that reaches inside the headphones. Furthermore, The control unit, A hearing check system characterized by temporarily suspending or interrupting the measurement of the hearing threshold when the difference falls within a predetermined range. [Claim 4] In the hearing check system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The aforementioned operating unit is A hearing check system characterized by receiving the aforementioned response through a binary choice operation of yes or no.

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