IHS Hearing Loss Assessment 2

Question 1

A patient reports hearing people speak but struggling to understand words, especially in noise. This pattern most likely indicates:

Accepted Answer

Sensorineural hearing loss affecting high frequencies

Answer

High-frequency sensorineural hearing loss reduces clarity and speech discrimination, especially in noisy environments, while overall loudness perception may be relatively preserved.

Question 2

Which Weber test result would you expect in a patient with a unilateral conductive hearing loss in the right ear?

Accepted Answer

Lateralizes to the right ear

Answer

In conductive hearing loss, the Weber test lateralizes to the affected ear because bone conduction is enhanced when air-conducted background noise is blocked.

Question 3

What is the primary purpose of speech discrimination (word recognition) testing in a hearing assessment?

Accepted Answer

To evaluate the auditory system's ability to recognize speech at suprathreshold levels

Answer

Word recognition testing assesses how clearly a patient understands speech once it is loud enough to hear, revealing auditory clarity beyond simple threshold detection.

Question 4

A tympanogram showing a flat (Type B) curve with normal ear canal volume most likely indicates:

Accepted Answer

Fluid in the middle ear (otitis media with effusion)

Answer

A Type B tympanogram with normal ear canal volume is the classic finding for middle ear effusion, where fluid dampens tympanic membrane mobility.

Question 5

During pure tone testing, a patient responds to a 1000 Hz tone at 40 dB HL via air conduction and at 15 dB HL via bone conduction. The air-bone gap indicates:

Accepted Answer

Conductive hearing loss

Answer

An air-bone gap (air conduction threshold significantly poorer than bone conduction threshold) indicates a conductive component to the hearing loss.

IHS - International Hearing Society Practice Test

IHS - International Hearing Society Practice Test

IHS Hearing Loss Assessment 2