THE DETAILED reviews and discussions of evidence necessary to evaluate critically the reliability of the interpretations that have been made of hearing tests would take more time than is available today. This presentation will therefore be limited to general considerations of certain aspects of the topic. NONMEDICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF HEARING TESTS To most members of the present audience, the title of this paper calls to mind medical problems. Before proceeding to the discussion of the medical aspects of the topic, however, I wish to remind you that hearing tests are interpreted and used in many ways other than diagnostic. For instance, since time immemorial every employer has noticed, consciously or subconsciously, the ability of applicants to hear and has interpreted these observations in terms of jobs. At the present time, the military services of our own and of other countries, without direct concern about the causes of poor hearing, have