Types of Hearing Loss & Assessment Flashcards

A patient's audiogram shows normal bone conduction thresholds but elevated air conduction thresholds bilaterally. This pattern is most consistent with:

Answer: Conductive hearing loss

An air-bone gap with normal bone conduction indicates a conductive component blocking sound transmission to the cochlea.

Which tympanogram type is associated with a perforated tympanic membrane?

Answer: Type B with large volume

A flat (Type B) tympanogram with an abnormally large ear canal volume suggests a tympanic membrane perforation or patent PE tube.

Otosclerosis primarily causes hearing loss by:

Answer: Fixating the stapes footplate in the oval window

Otosclerosis is abnormal bone growth that immobilizes the stapes, preventing efficient sound transmission to the inner ear.

In audiometry, the term 'threshold' is defined as the softest level at which a patient responds:

Answer: 50% of the time

Threshold is conventionally defined as the lowest intensity at which the patient responds correctly at least 50% of the time.

Which type of hearing loss is most commonly associated with noise exposure?

Answer: High-frequency sensorineural loss

Noise-induced hearing loss characteristically affects the high frequencies, typically showing a notch at 4000 Hz on the audiogram.

A patient reports hearing a constant ringing in both ears. This symptom is called:

Answer: Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the perception of sound (often ringing, buzzing, or hissing) without an external acoustic source.

Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) testing is used primarily to:

Answer: Validate pure-tone threshold results

The SRT should agree within ±6 dB of the pure-tone average, serving as a cross-check of the audiometric results.