A 35-year-old man with a history of chronic otitis media on the left ear undergoes tuning fork testing with a 512 Hz fork. The Weber test lateralizes to the left ear. The Rinne test on the left ear shows bone conduction greater than air conduction. On the right ear, air conduction is greater than bone conduction. These findings indicate:

• A Sensorineural hearing loss in the left ear
• B Conductive hearing loss in the left ear ✓
• C Conductive hearing loss in the right ear
• D Sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear

Explanation

In conductive hearing loss, the Weber test lateralizes to the affected ear because bone conduction is relatively preserved while air conduction is impaired. B negative Rinne test (bone conduction greater than air conduction) on the left confirms conductive loss on that side. The right ear shows a normal positive Rinne. Sensorineural loss would lateralize Weber to the opposite (better) ear and show a positive Rinne with reduced overall duration.

Reference: Ballenger's Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, 18th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.