The image below shows how to perform this test.

This may be due to the fact that now the affected ear is subject to less environmental noise compared to the normal side and therefore becomes more sensitive to the vibrations through the skull. The also rely on the fact that when there is a purely conductive hearing loss in one ear, that ear becomes more sensitive to bone conduction hearing compared to the normal side. These tests both exploit the fact that in normal people the ear is more sensitive to sound via the air (i.e via the middle ear mechanism) compared to bone conduction (i.e ‘hearing’ the sound transmitted as vibrations through the bone of the skull).

Ĝonductive hearing loss (when there is disruption of the sound reaching the inner ear through the normal method of using the tympanic membrane and transmitting vibrations through the middle ear bones.).

when the inner ear is damaged, either the cochlear and / or cochlear nerve) There are broadly two types of hearing loss: They are used mainly to detect functional defects in hearing. There are two main tuning fork tests Rinne’s and Weber’s tests. I hope to make this subject as easy to understand as possible for the busy clinician. NEVER CONDUCT A PROCEDURE YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT.ĭue to Popular demand - i have written this short guide purely on tuning fork tests. ALWAYS ASK YOUR SENIOR IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT A PROCEDURE. Anyone using this site does so at their own risk and he/she assumes any and all liability.

You may use the information here for personal use but if you intend to publish or present it, you must clearly credit the author and This site is not intended to be used by people who are not medically trained. The following document was written by Mr Vik Veer MBBS(lond) MRCS(eng) DoHNS(eng) in Dec 2007.

Weber tuning fork