Force Sensitivity Determination of Artificial Mastoid used for Audiometric Bone-Conduction Measurements

Bone conduction measurements are realized for determination of the threshold value of the cranial bone. The Artificial Mastoid as described in IEC 60373 is a mechanical coupler used for establishment of traceability in bone conduction measurements. Artificial Mastoid must be characterized depending on its force sensitivity. This will guarantee the traceability to national and international standards. A semi-automatic system which was constructed at at TUBITAK UME for characterization of artificial mastoid and uncertainty in measurements will be presented in this paper. The uncertainty in force measurements is stated as +/- 0.25 dB between 100 Hz and 8 kHz.