A nurse is assessing a client for hearing acuity by performing the Rinne test. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Explanation & Rationale
A. Place a vibrating tuning fork on the top of the client's head: This describes the Weber test, which assesses lateralization of sound to determine conductive versus sensorineural hearing loss. B. Move a vibrating tuning fork's prongs in front of the client's left or right ear canal: In the Rinne test, the nurse compares bone conduction and air conduction. After placing the fork on the mastoid bone, it is moved in front of the ear canal to test air conduction, which should normally be longer than bone conduction. C. Activate a tuning fork and place the prongs on the client's occipital area: Placing the tuning fork on the occipital bone is not part of any standard hearing assessment test. It would not yield useful information about bone or air conduction. D. Instruct the client to occlude one ear and repeat a softly spoken phrase by the nurse: This describes the whisper test, a screening tool for gross hearing acuity. It is not related to the Rinne test procedure.