HAC Types of Hearing Loss & Assessment 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which condition is characterized by episodes of vertigo, fluctuating low-frequency hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness?
- Acoustic neuroma
- Meniere's disease (Correct answer)
- Presbycusis
- Otitis media
Correct answer: Meniere's disease
Meniere's disease is caused by endolymphatic hydrops and presents with the classic tetrad of episodic vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear fullness.
Question 2: When masking is required during bone conduction testing, the masking noise is delivered to:
- The test ear via insert earphone
- The non-test ear via insert or supra-aural earphone (Correct answer)
- Both ears simultaneously
- The test ear via bone oscillator
Correct answer: The non-test ear via insert or supra-aural earphone
During bone conduction testing, masking noise is placed in the non-test ear to prevent it from responding to the signal.
Question 3: A downward-sloping audiogram configuration most commonly indicates:
- Conductive pathology
- Low-frequency sensorineural damage
- High-frequency sensorineural damage (Correct answer)
- Auditory neuropathy
Correct answer: High-frequency sensorineural damage
A ski-slope or downward-sloping audiogram, with worse thresholds at high frequencies, reflects damage to the high-frequency region of the cochlea.
Question 4: Which test measures the acoustic reflex, indicating the integrity of the middle ear, cochlea, and brainstem pathway?
- Otoacoustic emissions
- Acoustic immittance testing (Correct answer)
- Auditory brainstem response
- Distortion product audiometry
Correct answer: Acoustic immittance testing
Acoustic immittance testing (tympanometry + reflex testing) evaluates middle ear function and the stapedius reflex arc involving CN VII and VIII.
Question 5: An audiogram showing hearing thresholds within 0–25 dB HL across all frequencies for an adult is classified as:
- Mild hearing loss
- Normal hearing (Correct answer)
- Slight hearing loss
- Borderline normal
Correct answer: Normal hearing
Per standard audiometric classification, thresholds of 0–25 dB HL in adults are considered within the normal range.
Question 6: Cholesteatoma most commonly causes hearing loss through which mechanism?
- Cochlear hair cell destruction
- Ossicular erosion or discontinuity (Correct answer)
- Auditory nerve compression
- Eustachian tube dysfunction alone
Correct answer: Ossicular erosion or discontinuity
Cholesteatoma is a benign skin cyst that grows in the middle ear and erodes the ossicles, causing conductive hearing loss.
Question 7: The four-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) used for hearing aid candidacy typically averages thresholds at:
- 250, 500, 1000, 2000 Hz
- 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz (Correct answer)
- 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 Hz
- 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hz
Correct answer: 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz
The four-frequency PTA for hearing aid candidacy commonly uses 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, the frequencies most critical for speech understanding.
HAC Types of Hearing Loss & Assessment 3
Which condition is characterized by episodes of vertigo, fluctuating low-frequency hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness?