Hearing Loss Audiological Testing and Diagnosis Test 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does an audiogram graphically display?
- The shape and structure of the inner ear
- A person's hearing thresholds across different frequencies (Correct answer)
- The electrical activity of the auditory nerve
- The pressure levels inside the middle ear
Correct answer: A person's hearing thresholds across different frequencies
An audiogram is a graph that plots a person's hearing thresholds (the softest sounds they can detect) at various test frequencies, typically from 250 Hz to 8000 Hz.
Question 2: During pure-tone audiometry, what does the patient's 'hearing threshold' represent?
- The loudest sound the patient can tolerate
- The average loudness of normal conversation
- The softest sound the patient can detect at least 50% of the time (Correct answer)
- The frequency at which the patient hears best
Correct answer: The softest sound the patient can detect at least 50% of the time
The hearing threshold is defined as the lowest intensity level at which a patient can correctly detect a pure-tone stimulus at least 50% of the time.
Question 3: What unit of measurement is used to express hearing thresholds on an audiogram?
- Hertz (Hz)
- Decibels Hearing Level (dB HL) (Correct answer)
- Pascals (Pa)
- Decibels Sound Pressure Level (dB SPL)
Correct answer: Decibels Hearing Level (dB HL)
Audiograms use decibels Hearing Level (dB HL), a scale referenced to the average thresholds of young adults with normal hearing, making 0 dB HL the normative baseline.
Question 4: What does tympanometry primarily assess?
- Hair cell function in the cochlea
- Auditory nerve conduction speed
- Mobility of the tympanic membrane and middle ear pressure (Correct answer)
- Speech recognition ability in noise
Correct answer: Mobility of the tympanic membrane and middle ear pressure
Tympanometry measures how the eardrum (tympanic membrane) moves in response to changes in air pressure, providing information about middle ear pressure, fluid, and ossicular chain integrity.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of the Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) test?
- To measure the lowest intensity at which a patient can correctly identify 50% of spondee words (Correct answer)
- To determine how well a patient understands speech in background noise
- To assess auditory processing in the brainstem
- To evaluate the patient's ability to discriminate between phonemes
Correct answer: To measure the lowest intensity at which a patient can correctly identify 50% of spondee words
The SRT is the lowest hearing level (dB HL) at which a patient can correctly repeat spondee (two-syllable, equal-stress) words 50% of the time, confirming pure-tone average results.
Question 6: Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) testing is used primarily to assess which structure?
- The tympanic membrane
- The outer hair cells of the cochlea (Correct answer)
- The auditory cortex
- The Eustachian tube
Correct answer: The outer hair cells of the cochlea
OAEs are sounds generated by the outer hair cells (OHCs) of the cochlea in response to stimulation; absent OAEs indicate outer hair cell damage or dysfunction.
Question 7: Which audiological test measures the brain's electrical response to sound and does not require a behavioral response from the patient?
- Pure-tone audiometry
- Speech discrimination testing
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) (Correct answer)
- Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA)
Correct answer: Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
The ABR records electrical potentials generated along the auditory pathway from the cochlea to the brainstem using scalp electrodes, requiring no voluntary response from the patient.
Hearing Loss Audiological Testing and Diagnosis Test 1
What does an audiogram graphically display?