![]() ![]() Occlusion effect: Most of the sound transmitted via bone conduction travels to the cochlea.Therefore, the affected ear is more sensitive to bone-conducted sound. Masking effect: The sound heard via the affected ear has less environmental noise reaching the cochlea via air conduction (for example, the environmental noise is masked) compared to the unaffected ear, which receives sounds from both bone conduction and air conduction.In the presence of a purely unilateral conductive hearing loss, there is a relative improvement in the ability to hear a bone-conducted sound. The inner ear is more sensitive to sound via air conduction than bone conduction (in other words, air conduction is better than bone conduction). The Weber test is a test of lateralization and is most useful in those with asymmetrical hearing loss. In normal hearing, an individual will hear equally on both sides of the ear. Occasionally, one can get a mixed hearing loss, which is a combination of the two types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss is due to problems with the sound-conducting system, while sensorineural hearing loss is due to problems with the sound-transducing system, the auditory nerve, or its central pathways. The Weber test, along with its paired Rinne test, is commonly used to distinguish the site and likely cause of hearing loss. Hearing loss may occur due to interruption at any point along these pathways. However, sound can also be transmitted via bone conduction, where vibrations are transmitted via the skull and delivered directly to the cochlea, buried within the temporal bone. The cochlea plays a vital role in transducing these vibrations into nerve impulses via the auditory nerve (vestibulocochlear nerve), which is then delivered along the central pathways to the auditory cortex, where it is processed and perceived as sound. The sound vibrations are then transmitted through the middle ear via the ossicular chain before reaching the cochlea. The purpose of the outer ear is to direct sounds onto the tympanic membrane. The inner ear: Cochlea (organ of hearing), vestibular labyrinth (organ of balance).The middle ear: Tympanic membrane, ossicular chain (malleus, incus, stapes), and middle ear space.The outer ear: Pinna and external ear canal.The ear anatomically consists of the sound-conducting system (outer and middle ear) and the sound-transducing system (the cochlea). To understand the Weber test, one has to understand the basic anatomy of hearing. In patients with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, the phase differences and intercochlear intensity lead to vibrations being sensed louder in the contralateral normal ear, causing sound lateralization. The vibration of the middle ear ossicles.Clinical and animal studies have shown that cochlea is stimulated by bone conduction mainly through two routes: The mechanism underlying sound lateralization of the Weber test has been intriguing to health professionals for many decades. In conductive hearing loss, the sound should lateralize to the affected side however, in patients with sensorineural hearing loss, the sound lateralizes to the contralateral side. The Weber test is often combined with the Rinne test to detect the location and nature of the hearing loss. The inner ear mediates sensorineural hearing. The outer and middle ear mediate conductive hearing. ![]() The test can detect unilateral conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. The Weber test is a useful, quick, and simple screening test for evaluating hearing loss. The Weber test has been mainly used to establish a diagnosis in patients with unilateral hearing loss to distinguish between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Tuning fork tests have been the mainstay of otologic examination for more than a century. Explain the importance of improving care coordination among interprofessional team members to improve outcomes for patients affected by deafness.Summarize the clinical relevance of the Weber test.Review the indications for the Weber test.Describe the technique for conducting the Weber test.This activity describes the technique of the Weber test and its clinical relevance and highlights the interprofessional team's role in the management of patients with deafness. The Weber test is often combined with the Rinne test to detect the location and nature of the hearing loss. The test can detect unilateral conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. It is a useful, quick, and simple screening test for evaluating hearing loss.
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