What does an audiometer measure?

Explanation

An audiometer is a medical instrument mainly used to test a person’s hearing ability (auditory capacity). Through headphones, it produces sound signals at different frequencies and checks the minimum level at which the patient can hear. The level is indicated on the decibel scale, but it is calibrated relative to the average human hearing threshold, not as a direct measurement of an external sound source. Therefore, an audiometer is used to assess hearing sensitivity, not to measure the physical intensity of an outside sound source directly.