The Rinne test ( "English respelling pronunciation"> RIN -? ) is a hearing test, especially for evaluating hearing loss in one ear (unilateral hearing loss). This compares the perception of sound transmitted by air conduction to that transmitted through bone conduction through the mastoid. Thus, one can quickly filter out the existence of conductive hearing loss.
The Rinne test should always be accompanied by a Weber test to also detect sensorineural hearing loss and thereby confirm the nature of hearing loss.
The Rinne test is named after the German heinrich Adolf Rinne (1819-1868); Weber test named after Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878).
Video Rinne test
Procedures
The Rinne test is performed by placing a tuning fork 512 Hz against the patient's mastoid bone and asking the patient to notify you when the sound is no longer audible. After the patient signs that they can not hear it, the vibrating tuning fork is then placed 1-2 cm from the auditory canal. The patient is then asked again to show when they can no longer hear the tuning fork.
Maps Rinne test
Results
Normal hearing
- Air conduction must be larger than bone conduction so patients should be able to hear the tuning fork beside the pinna (outer ear) after they can no longer hear it while being held against the mastoid.
Hearing is not normal
- If the patient can not hear the tuning fork after being transferred from the mastoid to the pinna, that means their bone conduction is greater than their air conduction. This indicates that something inhibits the sound waves from the ear canal, through the middle ear device and into the cochlea (ie, there is a conductive hearing loss).
- In sensorineural hearing loss, the ability to sense tuning forks by both bones and air conduction is equally reduced, implying that they will hear tuning forks through air conduction after they can no longer hear it through bone conduction. This pattern is similar to that found in people with normal hearing, but patients with sensorineural hearing loss will show that the sound has stopped much earlier. This can be expressed by the person performing the test (with normal hearing) placing the fork close to their own ears after the patient indicates that the sound has subsided, noting that the sound from the fork is still visible to the normal ear. li>
Conductive hearing air vs. bone
Air conduction uses the middle ear tool (pinna, eardrum and ossicles) to strengthen and direct the sound to the cochlea, whereas bone conduction passes some or all of this and allows the sound to be transmitted directly to the inner ear even at the reduced volume, or through the skull bone to opposite ear.
Note that positive and negative words are used in rather confusing ways here, compared to their typical use in medical tests. Positive or negative in this case means that certain evaluated parameters are present or not. In this case, the parameter is whether air conduction (AC) is better than bone conduction (BC). Thus, a "positive" result indicates a healthy state, unlike many other medical tests. Therefore, some prefer to avoid using the terms "positive" or "negative", and only state if the test is normal or abnormal. For example: "The abnormal Rinne test in the right ear, with bone conduction greater than air conduction".
Limitations
This test and its complement, the Weber test, is a rapid screening test and is not a substitute for formal audiometry. Recently, its value as a screening test has been questioned.
The Rinne test is unreliable in distinguishing sensorineural and conductive loss cases from unilateral or severe sensorineural loss. In such a case, conduction of the bone into the contralateral normal ear would be better than air conduction, resulting in a false negative. In such a case, the Weber test will, however, show signs of lateralisation, implying some type of pathology. A formal audiometric test will be required if any abnormal results are presented.
References
External links
- Tuning Tuning Tests - Family Practice Notes Book. Retrieved 3 February 2007.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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