How to eliminate air-bone gaps audiometrically: use too much masking.
The excessive, indiscriminate use of masking during measurements of pure-tone bone-conduction thresholds can reduce or eliminate air-bone gaps. This may result in an abnormal, audiometrically induced bone-conduction threshold shift and suggest to the otologist the need for auditory brainstem response testing and/or magnetic resonance imaging. A case is presented in which the inappropriate use of the masking plateau method resulted in a reduction of the air-bone gap in an ear with a mild conductive hearing loss. The audiometric Weber test should be used in these cases, and nonmasked bone thresholds should be used to determine the actual level of the cochlear reserve.
Miller
Maurice H
MH
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development of New York University, 665 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10012, USA. mhm1@nyu.edu
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000175:diagnosis; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D010470:Perceptual Masking