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 usually points to grounding 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 — there isn't a software setting that does this.
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 an analog signal while the test tones are digital, and if the booth or audiometer isn't properly grounded, that mismatch can show up as interference — usually a faint clicking or popping layered in the background rather than a loud crackle, and usually specific to the voice instructions rather than the tones.

1. Rule out the simple explanation first. Confirm sound is coming through at all and isn't muted in the Volume Mixer (see above) — a grounding problem assumes the instructions are audible but noisy, not silent.
2. If it's a faint pop or click under otherwise-working instructions, that's a grounding issue — but fixing it is a job for us or a qualified technician, not a customer step. It involves opening a connection point on the BAS unit and running a wire back to the hardware that secures it to the booth, and doing it incorrectly can introduce a different problem. Call us to get it scheduled.
3. 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 — that's a grounding job, 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.