In a patient with unilateral conductive hearing loss, the Stenger test is used to:

• A Differentiate sensory from neural hearing loss
• B Detect non-organic (functional/malingering) unilateral hearing loss ✓
• C Measure the degree of recruitment in cochlear pathology
• D Assess auditory brainstem pathway integrity

Explanation

The Stenger test exploits the binaural principle that when the same tone is presented to both ears simultaneously at different intensities, only the louder tone is perceived (Stenger effect). If a patient is feigning unilateral deafness and a loud tone is presented to the claimed deaf ear while a softer tone is presented to the good ear, the malingerer will not respond (claiming not to hear the soft tone) even though the binaural loudness percept from the deaf ear overrides perception in the good ear. A positive Stenger test indicates functional hearing loss.

Reference: Dhingra Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat, 7th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.