Static, Humming, or Voice Instructions the Subject Can't Hear

What's happening

Two different problems both get reported the same way — "the subject can't hear the instructions" — and they have different fixes. One is that the spoken instructions are coming out of the computer's own speakers instead of the headset. The other is a faint static, clicking, or popping that shows up specifically on the voice instructions (not necessarily on the test tones themselves), which points to the instruction audio path rather than a settings problem. Figure out which one you have before you troubleshoot further.

If instructions play through the PC speakers instead of the headset

1. Confirm the interface cable's audio jack is actually plugged into the computer's speaker/headphone output jack, not just the USB side. The cable connecting the audiometer to the computer has a separate audio connection specifically for voice instructions, and it has to be seated in the right jack.
2. Check Windows' sound output device. Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray (or open Windows Sound settings) and look for the audiometer's interface cable listed as its own playback device. Set it as the default output.
3. Open the Volume Mixer. Right-click the speaker icon and choose "Open Volume Mixer," then look for the audiometer program's channel and confirm it isn't muted. This gets toggled off more often than you'd expect, sometimes after an unrelated Windows update.
4. If Windows won't list the interface cable as an output option at all, try temporarily disabling the computer's built-in speaker device in Sound settings, so Windows is forced to hand audio to the interface cable instead.
5. If you want instructions playing through both the PC speakers and the headset at once, that needs a physical Y-splitter (a "wye" adapter) connecting both a set of powered speakers and the interface cable to the PC's audio output — there isn't a software setting that does this. Note that with a splitter in place, the subject in the booth will still only hear the start and error instructions, not the general test-complete or error alarm tones, which stay on the PC speakers.
6. Know that this fix doesn't always survive a reboot or a reconnect. If it comes back after working fine for a while, just run through the same steps again rather than assuming something new broke.

If you're hearing static, clicking, or a hum — but only on the instructions

This is a different problem. The spoken instructions travel as a separate audio signal from the test tones, so interference that shows up only on the instructions — usually a faint clicking or popping layered in the background rather than a loud crackle — points to something in that specific signal path (the audio jack connection, the interface cable, or the booth wiring around it) rather than the audiometer's core electronics.

1. Rule out the simple explanation first. Confirm sound is coming through at all and isn't muted in the Volume Mixer (see above) — this section assumes the instructions are audible but noisy, not silent.
2. Reseat the interface cable's audio connector at both the audiometer end and the computer's audio jack, the same way you would for a loose connection anywhere else. If there's a patch panel or booth wiring between the two, try bypassing it the same way described in the response-button and headphone-cord guides.
3. If a faint pop or click persists under otherwise-working instructions after reseating, that's a wiring or interference fault we need to diagnose on site — not a customer step, since isolating it can mean opening the instrument or booth wiring. Call us to get it scheduled.
4. As a stopgap while you wait for that visit, you can turn voice instructions off entirely. In the software, go to Audiometer, then Audiogram Configuration, duplicate your active test configuration, open the duplicate with Modify, and uncheck the "start test" and "error" voice instruction boxes. Tests run a little faster this way and the noisy signal goes away — the tradeoff is that a subject who does something wrong during the test won't get a spoken correction; the test just keeps going.

When to call us

• You've confirmed sound isn't muted and the interface cable is set as the default output, and instructions still won't play through the headset.
• You're hearing a consistent faint click or pop specifically on the instructions after reseating the audio connector — that needs an on-site diagnosis, and it should be scheduled rather than worked around indefinitely.
• The issue keeps coming back after you've already fixed it once. Mention that when you call; it changes what we check first.