<s>
An	O
earcon	B-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
brief	O
,	O
distinctive	O
sound	O
that	O
represents	O
a	O
specific	O
event	O
or	O
conveys	O
other	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earcons	B-General_Concept
are	O
a	O
common	O
feature	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
applications	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
a	O
simple	O
beep	O
to	O
indicate	O
an	O
error	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
customizable	O
sound	O
schemes	O
of	O
modern	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
indicate	O
startup	O
,	O
shutdown	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
events	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sumikawa	O
to	O
coin	O
"	O
earcon	B-General_Concept
"	O
as	O
the	O
auditory	O
equivalent	O
in	O
a	O
1985	O
article	O
,	O
'	O
Guidelines	O
for	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
audio	O
cues	O
into	O
computer	O
user	O
interfaces.	O
'	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
most	O
commonly	O
applied	O
to	O
sound	O
cues	O
in	O
a	O
computer	O
interface	B-Application
,	O
but	O
examples	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
occur	O
in	O
broadcast	O
media	O
such	O
as	O
radio	O
and	O
television	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Earcons	B-General_Concept
are	O
generally	O
synthesized	O
tones	O
or	O
sound	O
patterns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
similar	O
term	O
auditory	B-General_Concept
icon	I-General_Concept
refers	O
to	O
recorded	O
everyday	O
sounds	O
that	O
serve	O
the	O
same	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Assistive	O
technologies	O
for	O
computing	O
devices	O
—	O
such	O
as	O
screen	O
readers	O
including	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
's	O
ChromeVox	O
,	O
Android	B-Application
's	O
TalkBack	B-Application
and	O
Apple	O
's	O
VoiceOver	B-Operating_System
—	O
use	O
earcons	B-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
convenient	O
and	O
fast	O
means	O
of	O
conveying	O
to	O
blind	O
or	O
visually	O
impaired	O
users	O
contextual	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
interface	B-Application
they	O
are	O
navigating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earcons	B-General_Concept
in	O
screen	O
readers	O
largely	O
serve	O
as	O
auditory	O
cues	O
to	O
inform	O
the	O
user	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
selected	O
a	O
particular	O
type	O
of	O
interface	B-Application
element	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
button	O
,	O
hyperlink	O
or	O
text	O
input	O
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
also	O
provide	O
context	O
about	O
the	O
current	O
document	O
or	O
mode	B-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
whether	O
a	O
web	O
page	O
is	O
loading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earcons	B-General_Concept
provide	O
an	O
enhancement	O
to	O
screen	O
reader	O
usage	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
brevity	O
and	O
subtleness	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
an	O
improvement	O
over	O
using	O
much	O
longer	O
spoken	O
cues	O
to	O
provide	O
context	O
:	O
using	O
a	O
short	O
,	O
distinctive	O
beep	O
when	O
an	O
interface	B-Application
's	O
button	O
is	O
selected	O
can	O
be	O
much	O
faster	O
and	O
therefore	O
more	O
convenient	O
to	O
hear	O
than	O
using	O
speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
to	O
say	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
button	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
being	O
non-spoken	O
audio	O
sounds	O
,	O
users	O
must	O
learn	O
to	O
associate	O
the	O
earcons	B-General_Concept
with	O
their	O
meanings	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
fully	O
benefit	O
from	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
help	O
with	O
learning	O
such	O
associations	O
,	O
some	O
screen	O
readers	O
will	O
also	O
speak	O
the	O
meanings	O
of	O
their	O
respective	O
earcons	B-General_Concept
,	O
albeit	O
towards	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
their	O
full	O
description	O
of	O
an	O
interface	B-Application
element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
recommended	O
that	O
earcons	B-General_Concept
be	O
introduced	O
early	O
on	O
when	O
learning	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
screen	O
reader	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
they	O
become	O
impulsively	O
(	O
and	O
eventually	O
,	O
subconsciously	O
)	O
associated	O
through	O
habitual	O
usage	O
.	O
</s>
