Case 2 Patient: I

Case 2
Patient: I.B Gender: Female Age: 70
I.B. complains of hearing loss in her left ear that has gotten progressively worse. She reports some unsteadiness, but not true vertigo. When asked if she has any fullness in her ears, she pauses and says “maybe a little in that left ear.” She does not have any report of ear pain. She says she has ringing tinnitus, worse in the left ear.
When specifically asked about her right ear, she says her hearing is “probably not what it once was” but “I just wish the left ear were that good.” The speech testing results are summarized below.
SRT
WRS %
@HL
Right
25
84
55
Left
60 (m)
40 (m)
90
NU-6 recorded 1/2 lists
• Describe the type and severity of the loss.
• Given the loss type, what area(s) of the ear may be damaged?
• What is the three-frequency PTA for the right and left ear?
• Based on the SPRINT chart, is this patient’s WRS what would be expected for the patient’s hearing loss in each ear? Explain your answer.
• Based on the audiometric findings, what type of tympanogram results would you expect in each ear? Explain why you think those results would be most likely.