DIY Arduino Hearing Test Device
Hearing loss is a common problem for many – especially those who may have attended too many loud concerts in their youth. mircemk had recently been for a hearing test, and noticed that the procedure was actually quite straightforward. Armed with this knowledge, he decided to build his own test system and document it for others to use.
By using an Arduino to produce tones of various stepped frequencies, and gradually increasing the volume until the test subject can detect the tone, it is possible to plot an audiogram of hearing threshold sensitivity. Testing each ear individually allows a comparison between one side and the other.
mircemk has built a nice miniature cabinet that holds an 8×8 matrix of WS2812 addressable RGB LEDs. A 128×64 pixel OLED display provides user instructions, and a rotary encoder with push-button serves as the user input.
Of course, this is not a calibrated professional piece of test equipment, and a lot will depend on the quality of the earpiece used. However, as a way to check for gross hearing issues, and as an interesting experiment, it holds a lot of promise.
Read more: DIY Arduino Hearing Test Device
