Question

A medical assistant is checking a patient's hearing using the Rinne test. Which of the following actions should the assistant take?

1) Place a vibrating tuning fork against the patient's mastoid process and ask them if they can hear it.
2) Place a vibrating tuning fork against the patient's mastoid process and then move it in front of their ear.
3) Place a vibrating tuning fork against the patient's forehead and ask them if they can hear it.
4) D. Place a vibrating tuning fork against the patient's forehead and then move it behind their ear.

Answer 1

To perform the Rinne test, the assistant places a vibrating tuning fork on the mastoid process until the patient cannot hear it, then quickly moves it next to the ear canal to see if the sound is audible through the air, which helps identify conductive hearing deficits.

Step-by-step explanation:

When conducting the Rinne test, a medical assistant should perform the following actions for checking a patient's hearing:

1. Place a vibrating tuning fork against the patient's mastoid process and ask them to indicate when they can no longer hear the vibration.
2. Immediately move the tuning fork in front of their ear to test if the sound can be heard through the air. If the air-conducted sound is not heard, it suggests a conductive hearing deficit.

This test helps to differentiate between conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss. Conductive hearing involves the bones of the middle ear (ossicles), whereas sensorineural hearing involves the inner ear and associated neural pathways.