[The present position of the computer in audiometry (author's transl)].

Alike other fields, in the last years there was a considerable progress in the use of computers in audiology. Here the on-line-operation in the so-called subjective audiometry is dealt with. On principle we have to discriminate between different arrangements, where on the one hand the machine is merely registering and on the other hand the machine is also controlling the test. The last one has the exceeding advantage to be more flexible and also allows the use of randomization, which means a fundamental condition to statistics. In this case the machine also can check the patient's responses - according to the programmm e.g. periods of the patient's inattentiveness may be discovered and the audiometrist may be called. Further on at certain tests the computer may check the results of the investigation in respect to significance in on-line-operation; by this investigations can be shortened. Several situations of application are described; the computercontrolled automatical audiometry can be performed in accordance to Kékésy (the temporal sequence of pulses is independent on the patient's response) or - similar to conventional audiometry - the calculator will wait for patient's response after each stimulus. For scientific investigation the computer-controlled-performance has great advantages because of the machine-compatible output of the results (for further statistical evaluation). By the use of a calculator the audiometry is not at all limited by the inexactness of the patient during an investigation. In spite of this inexactness possibilities are shown to detect farmore smaller differences of the threshold. At least for the moment the use of a computer in routine audiometry seems to be of worth only at great audiometric station and means that the audiometrist has to pay special attention to the psychological state of the patient.