Rinne and Weber Tests
Definition
Both the Rinne and the Weber tests employ the use of metal tuning forks to provide a rough assessment of a patient's hearing level at various frequencies. A tuning fork is a metal instrument with a handle and two prongs, or tines. Tuning forks, made of steel, aluminum, or magnesium alloy, will vibrate at a set frequency to produce a musical tone when struck. The vibrations produced can be used to assess a person's ability to hear different sound frequencies.
Purpose
A vibrating tuning fork held next to the ear or placed against the skull will stimulate the inner ear to vibrate, and can help determine if there is hearing loss. The Rinne tuning fork test helps evaluate a patient's hearing ability by air conduction compared to that of bone conduction. The Weber tuning fork test helps determine a patient's hearing ability by bone conduction only, and is useful when hearing loss is asymmetrical.
Precautions
No special patient precautions are necessary when tuning forks are used to conduct hearing tests.
Description
Two types of hearing tests using tuning forks are typically conducted. In the Rinne test, the vibrating tuning fork is held against the skull, usually on the bone behind the ear (mastoid process) to cause vibrations through the bones of the skull and inner ear. It is also held next to, but not touching, the ear, to cause vibrations in
KEY TERMS
Asymmetrical—Unbalanced, disproportionate, or unequal.
Mastoid process—The protrusions of bone behind the ears at the base of the skull.
Rinne test—A hearing test using a vibrating tuning fork that is held near the ear and held at the back of the skull.
Weber test—A hearing test using a vibrating tuning fork that is held at various points along the midline of the skull and face.
the air next to the ear. The patient is asked to determine which sound is louder, the sound heard through the bone or through the air. For the Weber test, the stem or handle of the vibrating tuning fork is placed at various points along the midline of the skull and face. The patient is then asked to identify which ear hears the sound created by the vibrations. Tuning forks of different sizes produce different frequencies of vibrations and can be used to establish the range of hearing for an individual patient.
