by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote:
My hearing loss has been described as “an air gap in the bone.” Whatever do they mean by that?
What you really mean to ask is, “What is an air/bone gap?”
When your audiologist does the pure tone hearing testing (the series of beeps at different frequencies and intensities), the “air” refers to “air conduction” testing using earphones, and the “bone” refers to the “bone conduction” testing using a bone oscillator (vibrator) placed behind your ear on the mastoid bone.
If you have a sensorineural hearing loss (meaning inner ear loss) both the air conduction and the bone conduction results will be similar.
However, if you have a conductive loss (meaning a middle ear loss) then your bone conduction testing results will be better than the air conduction results on your audiogram. This difference between the two lines or your audiogram is called the “air/bone gap”. Thus, the gap is only on your audiogram; it is not a physical gap in some bones in your head.
You could also have both a conductive and a sensorineural hearing loss at the same time. They call this a mixed loss. In this case, you will also have an air/bone gap on your audiogram.
Dear Sir what is the minimum air bone gap in mixed hearing loss if middle ear pressure on tympanogram is very high suppose -300dapa or -400dapa 0r -150dapa.
regards
Rufaq Ahmad
Audiologist
NWFP peshawar
Pakistan
So I have been told about this air-bone gap. I have been refered out. My hear is fine, but cannot hear very high or very low sounds. I did not know this till my test. Is it important to keep the appointment or should I go and see what they have to say. Margann Lovedahl FL USA
My son was diagnosed with air bone gap. We are being referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. I am really worried. I pray he does not have a tumor.