HAC Types of Hearing Loss & Assessment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient's audiogram shows normal bone conduction thresholds but elevated air conduction thresholds bilaterally. This pattern is most consistent with:
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Conductive hearing loss (Correct answer)
- Mixed hearing loss
- Functional hearing loss
Correct answer: Conductive hearing loss
An air-bone gap with normal bone conduction indicates a conductive component blocking sound transmission to the cochlea.
Question 2: Which tympanogram type is associated with a perforated tympanic membrane?
- Type A
- Type B with large volume (Correct answer)
- Type B with small volume
- Type C
Correct 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.
Question 3: Otosclerosis primarily causes hearing loss by:
- Damaging outer hair cells in the cochlea
- Fixating the stapes footplate in the oval window (Correct answer)
- Blocking the Eustachian tube
- Destroying the auditory nerve
Correct 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.
Question 4: In audiometry, the term 'threshold' is defined as the softest level at which a patient responds:
- 100% of the time
- 75% of the time
- 50% of the time (Correct answer)
- 25% of the time
Correct 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.
Question 5: Which type of hearing loss is most commonly associated with noise exposure?
- Low-frequency conductive loss
- High-frequency sensorineural loss (Correct answer)
- Mid-frequency cookie-bite loss
- Flat conductive loss
Correct answer: High-frequency sensorineural loss
Noise-induced hearing loss characteristically affects the high frequencies, typically showing a notch at 4000 Hz on the audiogram.
Question 6: A patient reports hearing a constant ringing in both ears. This symptom is called:
- Hyperacusis
- Diplacusis
- Tinnitus (Correct answer)
- Recruitment
Correct answer: Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the perception of sound (often ringing, buzzing, or hissing) without an external acoustic source.
Question 7: Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) testing is used primarily to:
- Determine the degree of sensorineural loss
- Validate pure-tone threshold results (Correct answer)
- Identify the site of lesion in the auditory pathway
- Measure the dynamic range of hearing
Correct 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.
HAC Types of Hearing Loss & Assessment 2
A patient's audiogram shows normal bone conduction thresholds but elevated air conduction thresholds bilaterally.
This pattern is most consistent with: