High-Pass Masking in the Classification of Low-Frequency Hearing Loss

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Abstract
Invalid BC [bone-conduction] determinations may be responsible for many diagnostic misinterpretations in the classification of low-frequency hearing losses. To reduce the influence from harmonic distortion, BC thresholds are determined during simultaneous, ipsilateral HP [high-pass] masking and compared with the conventionally obtained BC thresholds. Based on normative data a change of .ltoreq. 10 dB HL caused by HP masking is used as the criterion for judging the validity of the conventional BC testing. In 55% (11/20) of ears with low-frequency hearing loss, a decrease in air-bone gap was obtained with HP masking. Apparently, HP masking is of clinical significance for the diagnosis in these patients.