Question

When performing a Weber test on a patient with impacted cerumen in the right canal, the sound should be

A. referred to the right ear
B. referred to the left ear
C. equal in both ears
D. louder with air conduction

Answer 1

In a Weber test on a patient with impacted cerumen in the right ear, the sound will be referred to the right ear due to conductive hearing loss caused by the blockage which allows the bone-conducted sound to be heard more clearly.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Weber test is a hearing test that uses a tuning fork to determine the laterality of hearing loss. When performed on a patient with impacted cerumen in one ear, such as the right ear in this case, the sound from the tuning fork is expected to be referred to the right ear. This phenomenon occurs because the impacted cerumen (ear wax) blocks external noise, allowing the sound conducted through the bone (via the tuning fork on the skull) to be heard more clearly in the affected ear compared to the normal ear where ambient noise interferes, thus resulting in what is known as conductive hearing loss.