Patent ID: 8241224

Claim:
A test system for use in assessing auditory function, the system comprising: a probe configured to be coupled into an ear canal in a substantially leak-free state, wherein the probe comprises at least one acoustic transmitter to present one or more acoustic stimulus signals into the ear canal, and further wherein the probe comprises at least one acoustic transducer to measure an acoustic response to the one or more acoustic stimulus signals; a pump operatively coupled to the probe to vary static pressure in the ear canal; a processing apparatus operable to initiate one or more auditory tests on a patient upon receipt of input from a user, wherein the processing apparatus is operable for use in initiating and controlling performance of a reflectance tympanometry test on the patient using the probe resulting in reflectance tympanometry data comprising at least one or more transfer functions based at least on a response to an acoustic stimulus signal and a calibrated acoustic transfer function; and an output device to provide an output to a user based on the reflectance tympanometry data and results of one or more other auditory tests, wherein the one or more other auditory tests comprise at least one of an admittance tympanometry test, an Eustachian tube test, a middle-ear muscle reflex decay test, a middle-ear muscle reflex threshold test, an otoacoustic emission test of medial olivocochlear status, an otoacoustic emission test, an acoustic test of eardrum response based on probe response, an acoustic test of volume of air between the probe and eardrum, an acoustic test of ear canal cross-sectional area at two or more locations along an axis of the ear canal, an acoustic test of ear canal length, an auditory brain stem response test, and an audiometry test, and further wherein the output is representative of a probability of one or more auditory impairments in function of the patient's auditory system generated using both the reflectance tympanometry data and results of the one or more other auditory tests.