Problems in Masking and Current Methods of Handling Them
Although the need for masking in puretone audiometric testing is generally recognized by workers in the field of audiology, a satisfactory procedure and device which can be used uniformly as a masking agent for valid and reliable testing is still unavailable. The variety of masking devices included in commercially available audiometers and the differences in the way they are calibrated, the lack of agreement among specialists engaged in hearing measurement of when and how much masking should be employed, particularly in the testing of bone conduction, and the differences in procedures for applying the masking device used by different testers attests to the general confusion which surrounds this enormously complex problem.A New York audiologist has referred to masking as "the messiest problem in audiology."1 Lüscher and Zwislocki say that "the theoretical basis of masking has not yet been