Schwabach test

Introduction

A vibrating tuning fork (> 500 Hz) is placed on the mastoid process of the patient. The length of time for which the patient perceives sound is then compared by testing the examiner. With conductive hearing loss, the patient's bone conduction is longer than that of the examiner. With sensorineural hearing loss, the patient's bone conduction is present for a shorter period of time than the examiner. This assumes that the examiner's hearing is normal.

More general terms

• hearing evaluation

Additional terms

• hearing loss (hearing impairment, hard of hearing, HOH)