What the Audiogram Status Codes Mean (NT, NR, MR, SE, CR, RN, PT)

What's happening

When you run an automatic hearing test, the software doesn't just record a threshold at each frequency — it also flags anything that looks like it could make that threshold unreliable. Those flags show up as short codes (NT, NR, MR, SE, CR, RN, PT) in place of a number, both on the live test display and later on printed reports. Most of the time, these codes are telling you something about how the subject responded, not about a problem with your equipment. This guide covers what each one means, what it usually points to, and what to do next.

The status codes

Code	Name	What triggered it
NT	Not Tested	That frequency hasn't been tested yet, or wasn't included in this test at all.
NR	No Response	The subject didn't respond to two presentations of the tone at the highest intensity the audiometer can produce.
MR	Multiple Response	The subject responded more than once to a single tone presentation.
SE	Subject Error	No usable threshold was reached after 20 tone presentations at that frequency.
CR	Continuous Response	The subject held the response switch down without releasing it since the previous tone.
RN	Retest Not Valid	A programmed retest of that frequency came back more than 5 dB off from the original result.
PT	Presentation Timeout	More than 60 seconds passed from the start of that threshold search without a threshold being established.

What to do about each one

NT isn't an error at all — it just means that frequency was skipped or hasn't come up yet in the sequence. Nothing to troubleshoot; if it's unexpected, check that the test configuration includes the frequency you expected.

NR, MR, SE, CR, RN, and PT are, in practice, almost always telling you about how the subject is responding — not about a hardware fault. That's the useful read: before assuming something's wrong with the booth or the audiometer, retest and re-instruct.

• NR (No Response) usually means the subject genuinely isn't hearing the tone at that level, or isn't pressing the switch when they do. Re-instruct: press and release the switch as soon as you hear the tone, even a very soft one.
• MR (Multiple Response) means the subject is pressing the switch more often than the protocol is presenting tones — sometimes nerves, sometimes a subject trying to anticipate the test. If you notice MR turning up more than usual across your subjects generally, that's very likely reflecting how people are responding that day, not a change in the software.
• SE (Subject Error) means the test couldn't settle on a threshold after a lot of tries — usually an inconsistent responder. Re-instruct and retest.
• CR (Continuous Response) means the subject isn't releasing the switch between tones. Re-instruct: release the switch right after each tone rather than holding it down.
• RN (Retest Not Valid) means a repeated frequency came back meaningfully different the second time — inconsistent responding, most often. If it keeps happening on the same frequency across multiple subjects in the same booth, mention it to us — that pattern can also point to an equipment or ambient-noise issue rather than the subject.
• PT (Presentation Timeout) means the subject took too long to produce a usable response. Re-instruct and retest; if ambient noise in the booth is being monitored, timeouts can also happen when background noise keeps forcing retests without a clean response ever getting through.

If any of these codes shows up consistently on one specific booth, one specific audiometer, or one specific side of the headset regardless of who's being tested, stop treating it as subject behavior. That pattern points at the equipment — a headset connection, a hand-switch cable, a cord — rather than the person being tested.

What the software does when one of these happens

None of these codes halt the whole test. When one triggers, the software marks that frequency, shows the technician what happened along with counseling guidance for the subject, and restarts that frequency's search at a standard starting level. If your configuration has it enabled, the software also plays a short recorded instruction to the subject explaining what to do differently — for example, telling them to press and release the switch as soon as they hear the tone. The rest of the test continues normally; only that specific frequency gets retried.

When to call us

Contact Foster Instruments if:

• The same code shows up on the same frequency, booth, or ear across multiple different subjects — that's an equipment pattern, not a subject-behavior one.
• You're seeing a sudden spike in a particular code across your whole testing program that you can't explain by subject behavior.
• A code appears on a report that isn't in this list, or you see something you don't recognize.