Precision of Lateralization of Bone conduction in Audiometric and Tuning Fork Weber’s test in patients with Conductive Hearing Loss
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64252/59x7zm78Keywords:
Bone conduction , conductive hearing loss, weber’s test, lateralisationAbstract
Introduction : Conductive Hearing Loss (CHL) often presents with lateralization of sound to the affected ear , making hearing tests fundamental in clinical settings. Accurate lateralization of bone conduction in both Audiometric Weber’s (AW) and Tuning fork Weber’s (TFW) tests is crucial in diagnosing the type and severity of hearing loss .
Methods : In this observational cross-sectional study ,80 people aged 12-67 years with unilateral CHL or bilateral asymmetrical CHL in the ENT Department , SLIMS, Puducherry were enrolled. The TFW test was performed according to the established protocol at 256 and 512 Hz. For the AW test , bone vibrator was placed in the middle of forehead, where 250 and 500 Hz frequencies were tested. TF and AW test results were compared with the expected lateralisation from the respective PTA results.
Results: At 256 Hz , overall accuracy values of TFW and AW tests were 81.1% and 86.5% respectively . At 512 Hz the overall accuracy results of TFW and AW tests were 85.1% and 82.4% respectively.
Conclusions: Both AW and TFW tests were reasonably accurate in assessing patients with CHL . As such it is recommended for audiologists to conduct simple AW test in conjunction with other audiological tests to verify PTA results as masking problems and questionable audiograms are commonly encountered in clinical practice.