Comparison of sound transmission in human ears and coupler loaded by audiometric earphones

The thresholds of hearing are usually determined using audiometric earphones. They are calibrated by means of a standardized acoustical coupler. In order to have determined thresholds independent of the earphone type, the coupler should approximate the average human ear closely. Nevertheless, the differences among earphones as well as between human ears and the coupler affect the results of audiometric measurements inducing uncertainty. The influence of these differences is examined by investigating the sound transmission in both human ears and standardized coupler loaded by different audiometric earphones, which is related to coupling of these earphones to human ears and to the coupler. This is done by measurements of the transfer functions from input voltage of the earphone terminals to the entrance of the ear canal in two situations: open, and blocked. Similar measurements were carried out in the coupler, but since the "ear canal entrance" is not well-defined for the coupler, the mentioned measurements were done at different depths in the coupler. The sound transmission and coupling were described in terms of the pressure division at the entrance of the ear canal and the transmissions in human ears and the coupler were compared. The results indicate that they differ