Pure tone audiometry is the standard practice for hearing screening for all children over 3. But for children under 3, pure tone audiometry is difficult and may lead to inaccurate results. That’s where the Maico® Pilot Automatic Audiometer comes in. It’s able to screen young children with picture speech audiometry and older children with pure tone audiometry. That’s why nurses love it!

Spondee Words
Pure tone audiometry measures the speech recognition threshold, or, the softest level at which a child can repeat a two-syllable word with equal stress on each syllable. These two-syllable words are called spondee words (i.e. “cupcake”, “hotdog”, “toothbrush”). The downside of testing with spondee words is that children, especially children under 3, can often take an educated guess at what word they’re hearing, leaving the test with an inaccurate result.

The Maico® Pilot Automatic Audiometer
The Pilot combats these inaccurate tests for young children and/or children with disabilities by testing with picture speech audiometry. The success of this test is due in large part to the way it engages children in a game. The child will listen to ten sentences (in either English or Spanish) presented at eight descending decibel levels. When the child hears the Pilot tell them to point to the “cupcake” or “toothbrush”, the child can point to the corresponding picture on the audiometer. At the end of the test, the child can be given a sticker as a reward for their participation (click here to shop “I’ve Had My Hearing Checked Today” stickers). That’s why children love it!

If you are testing older children, the Pilot can simply be switched into a manual pure tone audiometer, providing you the flexibility to screen children of different ages appropriately and effectively.

Key features of the Maico® Pilot Automatic Audiometer:

• 2-in-1 screening: pure tone audiometry and select picture speech audiometry
• Full frequency range for pure tone testing
• Options for English and Spanish
• Large LCD display screen
• Colorful and kid-friendly!
• Option to purchase a printer

To learn more about the Maico® Pilot Automatic Audiometer, please click here. Or, click here to shop all hearing screeners*. If you have any questions about hearing screening, please contact us. We’d be happy to help!

*MacGill offers one free calibration with the purchase of an audiometer. Click here for more information.