[Assessment of acuteness of hearing using white noise. A comparison with classical audiometry in 357 cases of deafness].

From statistics of 357 cases of deafness it would appear that figures for white noise threshold are practically identical with those for global auditory loss of hearing calculated by means of tonal audiograms according to the usual 5 criteria. Measurement of white noise threshold is a quick and simple method of assessing acuteness of hearing. By bringing into play the whole of the auditory field, it is the equivalent of a real functional investigation of the ear. Furthermore, it is comparable to tonal audiometry in its use of complex sounds but without the disadvantage of relying on intelligibility. In conclusion, the authors suggest a mathematical interpretation to confirm these results.