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- Title
Spectral analysis of tuning fork generated tones.
- Authors
Reiter, David
- Abstract
Tuning forks have been used as clinical pure tone generators since the middle of the nineteenth century. The development of electronic signal sources has fostered innumerable advances in audiologic diagnosis, yet the tuning fork remains in daily use by thousands of physicians, for rapid and reliable screening of auditory acuity. This study examines tuning forks as oscillators, determining harmonic distortion with real-time spectral analysis. Various methods of striking the instrument are compared, with regard to harmonic distortion and sound pressure level generated. Tuning forks are, thus, compared to their electronic counterparts for the first time in the literature. Gentle striking of a steel, 256 Hz. fork on the thenar eminence produces tones comparable in purity to those generated by ANSI-calibrated audiometers. Similar results were obtained with forks of higher frequency; however, careful use of light aluminum alloy forks may produce equally satisfactory results.
- Publication
Laryngoscope, 1982, Vol 92, Issue 8, p844
- ISSN
0023-852X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1288/00005537-198208000-00002