Hearing Loss Simulator

Hearing Loss Simulator demonstrates the effects of the patient's hearing loss using a variety of sounds and his/her audiogram or audiometric presets. Different display options, visual aids, and drawing tools help facilitate the patient's and his/her family's understanding on the impact of his/her hearing loss on specific environmental and speech sounds. A copy of the simulation can be printed and given to the patient for reference. Hearing Loss Simulator is only available if it was installed.

Hearing Loss Simulator GraphHearing Loss Simulator Graph

Audiograms, Overlays, and SoundsAudiograms, Overlays, and Sounds

1. Click Pre-Fitting from the Left Navigation Menu.

2. Click Hearing Loss Simulator.
3. Inspire automatically defaults to a binaural view if applicable. To display only the right or left ear side, click or .
4. Click Patient to display the patient's audiogram, click Normal to display the normal audiogram, or click Preset to display a preset audiogram.

   Note:  If an In-situ audiogram is stored in the hearing aid(s) or an audiogram exists for the patient in Noah, PatientBase, or ProHear, it automatically defaults. If the patient does not have an audiogram, the Patient button is disabled and the Normal audiogram automatically defaults. If Choose an Audiogram is selected, three columns of preset audiograms display in order of severity. The first column represents a mild hearing loss, the second column represents moderate, and the third column represents severe. If a preset audiogram is selected and either Patient or Normal is later selected, the previously selected preset audiogram is retained (e.g., cookie bite), therefore, if Preset is selected again without navigating to a different screen within Inspire, the previously selected audiogram (e.g., cookie bite) redisplays. A different preset audiogram can be selected per ear side.

5. Click Common Sounds to display five common sound images on the audiogram, click Speech Sounds to display speech phonemes, click Speech Spectrum to display a gray shaded region representing conversational speech with three people images (male, female and child), and/or click Articulation Index to display the patient’s level of speech recognition based on the audiogram data.

   Note:  Articulation Index is not available if Normal audiogram is selected. The Articulation Index is calculated using the thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, between the horizontal boundaries of 20 and 45 dB HL. It represents the percentage of the average speech signal that is audible.

6. Click on one or several images to play the sound.

   Note:  Only the images displayed on the Common Sounds and Speech Spectrum overlays can be played. Multiple sound files can be played at the same time. Audio files can be played or recorded via Media Player. Any image(s) and/or audio file that is activated plays according to the audiogram selected for the particular ear side. If a different audiogram is selected while an image(s) and/or audio file is playing, the thresholds are automatically adjusted based on the new audiogram.

7. Click Stop Sounds to stop all sounds currently playing.

   Tip:  Click on the image(s) currently playing to stop the sound. Subsequent clicks of the image(s) toggles between playing and stopping the sound.

   Note:  Clicking Stop Sounds does not stop an audio file playing via Media Player. To stop an audio file playing via Media Player, click Stop .

8. To draw on the audiogram, click the desired color from the palette .
9. Click Arrow to draw an arrow or click Rectangle to draw a rectangle.

   Note:  If an image(s) and/or audio file are currently playing, they're not stopped while in drawing mode. Audio files can be stopped, played, etc. while in drawing mode but images cannot. Images can be stopped or played once drawing mode has been exited .

10. Place the mouse pointer where you want to start the arrow or where to originate the rectangle. Press and hold the left mouse button, drag in any direction until the desired length or size is attained, and then release the left mouse button.

    Tip:  Click Undo to reverse the last drawing action. If more than one drawing action was performed, subsequent clicks reverse multiple drawings in the opposite order in which they were drawn.

11. To draw additional arrows or rectangles in different colors, repeat steps 8-10.
12. Click Exit Drawing Mode to discontinue drawing and hide the drawings.

    Tip:  To redisplay the drawings, click Arrow or Rectangle .

    Note:  Images can now be stopped or played.

13. Click  on the Inspire Toolbar to print and/or preview the Hearing Loss Simulator report if desired.

    Tip:  Click File or Inspire (if Noah 3 is installed) from the Menu Bar and click Print to print and/or preview the report.

    Note:  Once another Inspire screen is accessed, all drawings are erased and if an image(s) and/or audio file is currently playing, it's automatically stopped.