One Frequency Reads High, or an Earpiece Cuts Out

What's happening

This is one of the most common patterns we see: everything passes calibration fine except one specific frequency, or one ear reads consistently high, or a subject reports crackling or the sound cutting in and out on one side. It's almost never the whole audiometer — it's nearly always something mechanical in that one signal path: the headphone cushion seating, the cord, or the small connector where the cord meets the transducer. Work through these in order. Each step is quick and rules something specific out before you assume the worst.

Try these in order

1. Reseat the headphones. Make sure the cushion sits flush against the D-check (the block the headphones connect to) and the headband is pulled all the way down for full tension. A cushion sitting slightly off is enough to cause an intermittent failure at just one frequency.
2. Flip the headphones. Swap which side — left or right — plugs into which connector, then run the calibration again. If the problem moves with the headphone, the headphone side is the fault. If it stays on the same connector regardless of which headphone is plugged in, the fault is downstream of the headphone — the cord, the D-check, or the booth wiring.
3. If you have a second D-check or a spare headphone set, swap it in and repeat the test. Same logic: if the problem follows the original part, that part is at fault; if it disappears, you've isolated it.
4. Check the set screw at the connector where the cord meets the transducer. These loosen over time, and the screw itself is genuinely tiny — about 0.035 inch, small enough that most sites don't have an Allen wrench that fits. A loose but present screw can hold the connection intermittently, which shows up as "sometimes works, sometimes doesn't" rather than a clean failure. We can send a wrench and new screws if you don't have one that size.
5. Look for a worn or damaged cord. Exposed wire or fraying near the connector is reason enough to replace the cord outright rather than keep tightening it.
6. If you have a continuity tester, run one across the cord while wiggling it. An intermittent break shows up as the continuity cutting in and out as you move the cord — that confirms the cord, rather than the transducer, is the problem.
7. If it's a booth with a patch panel, try a different port pair. On systems routed through a patch panel, the contacts can get dirty or make a marginal connection, which alone can cause static or a channel dropping out. Try the corresponding port on both sides of the panel, or clean the contacts with a little alcohol on the plug before reinserting.
8. Replace the cord if none of the above holds. If tightening the screw doesn't fix it, the continuity test shows a break, or the only way to get sound is by physically pressing on the cord at the connector, that's a worn cord and it should be swapped rather than kept in service. We ship a replacement cord along with new screws and a wrench.

An important caution

None of the steps above touch the instrument's actual calibration — that's the point of doing them in this order. A cord swap, a cushion reseat, or a new screw fixes a mechanical connection; it does not recalibrate the audiometer. If you've worked through this list and readings still look genuinely off — not intermittent, but a shifted threshold — stop testing on that unit and call us rather than accepting a new baseline on your own. We'll review your daily calibration log with you and decide together whether the unit needs a real calibration, rather than adjusting anything informally in the field.

When to call us

• You've reseated, flipped, and swapped parts, and the fault stays on the same frequency or side no matter what changes.
• A subject reports a static, popping, or "short" sound rather than a clean tone.
• A continuity test shows a break, or the only way to get sound is by pressing on the cord.
• Anything points to the transducer itself rather than the cord — that's a part swap we handle, not a field fix.