Auditory Assessment

Question 1

Components of an auditory assessment

Answer 1

Case history
Otoscopy
Pure-tone AC/BC audiometry
Speech audiometry
Physiologic testing

Question 2

Case history

Answer 2

Information gathering about the patient

Question 3

Otoscopy

Answer 3

Visualize and assess the pinna, ear canal, and tympanic membrane/middle ear

Question 4

Pure-tone audiometry

Answer 4

Find the softest intensity sound can be heard (threshold)
Find threshold for the sounds that make up speech (pure-tones)
Find threshold for air and bone conducted pure tones

Question 5

Speech audiometry

Answer 5

Speech recognition threshold (SRT)
Speech (word) recognition score (WRS)

Question 6

Speech recognition threshold (SRT)

Answer 6

Softest level speech is recognized

Question 7

Speech (word) recognition score (WRS)

Answer 7

Percentage of words correctly recognized at a comfortably loud level

Question 8

Conductive hearing loss

Answer 8

Damage to outer and/or middle ear system
Often medically correctable or temporary
On an audiogram, air conduction is worse than bone conduction

Question 9

Sensorineural hearing loss

Answer 9

Damage to cochlea, auditory nerve, and/or central auditory nervous system
Audiogram shows air and bone conduction being equal

Question 10

Testing procedures for infants

Answer 10

OAE
ABR

Question 11

Otoacoustic emissions (OAE)

Answer 11

Outer hair cells generate distortion sounds that can be measured
Presence of these sounds indicate healthy OHC
Tested in infants since it’s faster and cheaper than ABR