This week I saw a gentleman for a hearing conservation evaluation. He is the second person that I've tested who has had an asymmetrical loss with a slight conductive component. The poorer ear was reduced by at the most 30 dB HL. Most frequencies were within normal range and those that weren't were high frequencies. He has a history of noise exposure from his job and hunting. Since I am cursed with asymmetrical losses, I wanted to find an article on the risk of tumors (acoustic neuroma) in regards to audiometrical findings. Schlauch et al. (1995) discuss the audiometry of tumor and non-tumor groups. They suggested using high frequencies as the basis for referral since a tumor would effect high frequencies first. Although some evidence for a tumor can be seen in an audiogram, false positives may cause over-referral. Schlauch et al. also said if the patients are older or exposed to noise, then differences between ears is not always a red flag for referral.
Schlauch et al. (1995). Evaluating Hearing Threshold Differences Between Ears as a Screen for Acoustic Neuroma. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Volume 38, 1168-1175.
http://jslhr.asha.org/cgi/reprint/38/5/1168
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3 comments:
You're not cursed. You've gotten to see a lot of interesting cases that some people do not get to see. You're doing awesome!
Interesting article and post. Did you see Molly's scholarly work presentation? She and her supervisor had reviewed patient charts for acoustic neuroma and symptoms. Nice job.
Katie,
I am so glad you were able to find this article! Like Sabrina said, you are not cursed...you have just had the luxury of seeing some very interesting clients! :)
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