audiometer

American  

[aw-dee-om-i-ter] / ˌɔ diˈɒm ɪ tər /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. an instrument for gauging and recording acuity of hearing.

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audiometer British  

/ ˌɔːdɪˈɒmɪtə, ˌɔːdɪəʊˈmɛtrɪk /

noun

1. an instrument for testing the intensity and frequency range of sound that is capable of detection by the human ear

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Other Word Forms

• audiometric adjective
• audiometrically adverb
• audiometrist noun
• audiometry noun

Etymology

Origin of audiometer

First recorded in 1875–80; audio- + -meter

Explanation

An audiometer is a specialized medical instrument that measures your ability to hear certain sounds. Doctors use audiometers to diagnose hearing loss. The word audiometer combines audio, a word derived from a Latin word meaning "hear," and meter, from Greek and Latin words meaning "measure." A typical audiometer has headphones attached to a machine that makes a series of beeping sounds at different pitches and frequencies. You signal, usually by pressing a button, to show that you've heard a sound. The machine records the results and produces a graph, called an audiogram, which plots your hearing across different frequencies and pitches in each ear.

Example Sentences

Once, to show how fear affects the human body, Poole had a scientist toss a king snake at a woman who had been wired for reaction; the audiometer recorded her leaping heartbeats.

From Time Magazine Archive