IHS Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Bone conduction is a method that measures hearing ability by allowing sound to bypass the outer and middle ear, transmitting sound vibrations directly to the inner ear through the skull. This technique is crucial for understanding the auditory function, particularly when assessing the type of hearing loss a patient may experience.

When bone conduction is tested, a small vibrating device is placed against the mastoid bone or the forehead, which generates vibrations that stimulate the cochlea directly. This testing helps differentiate between conductive hearing loss, which affects the outer or middle ear, and sensorineural hearing loss, which involves the inner ear or auditory nerve.

In contrast, air conduction involves sound traveling through the outer ear, middle ear, and into the inner ear, which does not isolate the inner ear's ability to process sound. Impedance audiometry focuses on the movement of the eardrum and middle ear system rather than directly assessing auditory perception. Speech audiometry evaluates the ability to recognize and understand speech, which involves both conductive and sensorineural pathways. Thus, the method used for testing bone conduction is essential for diagnosing and understanding hearing loss effectively.