A Novel 3-Step Tuning Fork Hearing Test; Preliminary Report on Its Clinical Utility

It is pertinent to have a Tuning Fork Hearing Test that stand-alone can detect severities (Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound) and the types of hearing losses (Conductive, Sensorineural, and Mixed). A novel 3-Step Tuning Fork Hearing Test (3-STFHT) was attempted for the first time that could detect both the types and the severities of hearing losses. The study was aimed to describe the method of the 3-STFHT and evaluate its clinical utility and reliability. Research Design: Hospital-based observational study of a diagnostic tool. Settings: Otorhinolaryngology Department of a tertiary care medical college hospital. Subjects: 108 adult patients (216 ears) who required hearing evaluation. Main Outcome measures: Sensitivity and specificity of novel 3-STFHT were assessed by comparing its results with the reports of pure tone audiometry in detecting the type and severity of hearing loss. The new 3-STFHT was found very effective (100% sensitivity and specificity) in detecting conductive and profound sensorineural hearing losses. The sensitivity in detecting sensorineural hearing loss was found 97%-100%. The sensitivity was observed relatively low (92%) at detecting mixed hearing loss. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the 3-STFHT in detecting the types of hearing losses was found 97% and 86% respectively. The novel 3-STFHT, which is simple and convenient, was found very effective in detecting the types and severity of hearing losses. The 3-STFHT can be an important tool in otorhinolaryngology practice and in primary care setting for detecting and screening the types and severities of hearing losses.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-022-03095-0.