Patent ID: 6840908

Claim:
A method for conducting a hearing test using a computer program, comprising: establishing a communication channel between a remote device and a server in a communication network; executing a first component of the computer program at the server; and executing a second component of the computer program at the remote device, wherein the computer program comprises a routine that manages interaction via an interface on the remote device, and adaptively selects stimuli based upon said interaction to be produced at the remote device far said interaction according to a convergent process to determine a hearing characteristic, wherein said convergent process comprises a maximum likelihood procedure, and wherein said routine includes causing a visual effect at the device corresponding to each of N alternative stimulus intervals, causing generation of a selected stimulus during one of the N alternative stimulus intervals, and prompting a subject to make a choice by selecting a visual effect indicating the subject's perception of the stimulus during said N alternative stimulus intervals, and said convergent process comprises selecting a first stimulus and producing a subsequent stimulus that is reduced in magnitude by a step amount if the choice in the interaction identifies a correct interval a number X times, or producing a subsequent stimulus that is increased in magnitude by a step amount if the choice in the interaction identifies an incorrect interval a number Y times, and wherein at least one of X and Y is greater than 1 during at least a part of the convergent process.