VROCA Toolkit — Support
An aid for Visual Reinforcement Operant Conditioning Audiometry · iPad
English
VROCA Toolkit is an iPad aid for audiology / early-intervention professionals. For questions, bug reports, or feedback, please email us — we read every message.
Quick answers
- Device: iPad on iPadOS 17 or later, used in landscape.
- Do I need a Bluetooth controller? The on-screen big button is the subject's response. The clinician uses a Bluetooth controller (or clicker / presenter / keyboard) to play the stimulus and trigger the reinforcer. Mode 1 and Mode 2 (Auto-random) work with just the iPad; Mode 2 (Bluetooth) and Mode 3 require a controller.
- Account / network: none required. The app works fully offline.
- Data: all records stay on your device. Delete any or all in Records → ⋯ → Clear all.
- Language: switch anytime in Settings → Language (中文 / English).
- Note: in-app tones are uncalibrated; the app is for simulation / training, not threshold testing.
How loud is the stimulus tone? What dB SPL at max volume?
There is no fixed dB SPL value — and that is by design. The app controls only the digital level of the synthesized tone (peak ≈ −1 dBFS, i.e. near full-scale with a little headroom). The actual sound-pressure level produced depends on factors the app cannot know or control:
- iPad model — speaker power and sensitivity differ across mini / Air / Pro and generations.
- System volume curve — how iOS maps "max volume" to real gain is device-specific and non-linear.
- Frequency — speaker response is not flat; the same digital level can vary by 10–20 dB or more between, say, 500 Hz and 4 kHz (small speakers roll off low frequencies heavily).
- Distance & angle — roughly −6 dB per doubling of distance.
- Room — reflections and background noise.
As a rough sense of capability only (not a spec, do not cite): an iPad at max volume can reach on the order of 80–100 dB SPL for broadband content at close range (~10–20 cm) — but this does not equal the SPL of any specific tone at any specific distance, where the error can be tens of dB.
To know the real level, measure it: a calibrated sound-level meter (or coupler / artificial ear) at a fixed distance, for your specific device, frequency, and volume setting. The synthesized tones must never be used as a threshold reference — formal threshold testing still requires a calibrated audiometer.
繁體中文
VROCA Toolkit 是給聽力 / 早療專業人員使用的 iPad 輔助工具。 若有問題、錯誤回報或建議，歡迎來信，我們會逐一閱讀。
常見問題
- 裝置：iPad，iPadOS 17 以上，橫向使用。
- 一定要藍牙控制器嗎？螢幕大按鈕是受試者的反應鈕；工作者用藍牙控制器（或簡報筆 / 翻頁器 / 鍵盤）來播放刺激音與觸發增強物。模式一與模式二（自動隨機）只用 iPad 即可；模式二（藍牙）與模式三需搭配控制器。
- 帳號 / 網路：都不需要，完全可離線使用。
- 資料：所有紀錄僅存於本機，可於 紀錄 → ⋯ → 清除全部 刪除。
- 語言：可隨時於 設定 → 語言 切換（中文 / English）。
- 提醒：App 內刺激音未經校正，僅供模擬 / 訓練，非閾值測量。
刺激音有多大聲？音量開到最大是幾 dB？
沒有固定的 dB SPL 值，而且這是刻意的設計。App 只能控制合成音的數位音量 （峰值約 −1 dBFS，接近滿刻度、留一點 headroom）；但實際傳出的聲壓， 取決於 App 無從得知也無法控制的因素：
- iPad 型號——mini / Air / Pro 與各世代喇叭的功率與靈敏度都不同。
- 系統音量曲線——iOS 把「音量最大」對應到多少實際增益，各機種不一且非線性。
- 頻率——喇叭頻響不平坦；同樣的數位音量，例如 500 Hz 與 4 kHz 的輸出可能相差 10–20 dB 以上（小喇叭低頻衰減尤其嚴重）。
- 距離與角度——距離每加倍約 −6 dB。
- 環境——房間反射與背景噪音。
僅供概念參考（非規格、請勿引用）：iPad 開到最大音量、近距離（約 10–20 公分）播放寬頻內容， 大致落在 80–100 dB SPL 的量級——但這不等於某個特定刺激音在某個距離的實際聲壓， 兩者誤差可達數十 dB。
要知道真正的數值，唯一方法是實測：用校正過的聲級計（或耦合器 / 人工耳）， 在固定距離，針對你的特定裝置、特定頻率與音量設定量測。合成刺激音永遠不可作為閾值依據—— 正式閾值測量仍須使用校正過的聽力檢查儀。