A client presents to the ENT clinic with some vague signs/symptoms. Which complaints would lead the health care provider to suspect the client has otosclerosis? Select all that apply

Question

A) Inability to hear whispering.
B) Inability to hear when talking on the telephone.
C) When chewing food, sounds are much intensified.
D) In a noisy environment has a hard time hearing unless the health care provider speaks directly into the client's ear canal.
E) The person's own voice sounds unusually loud.

Answer 1

Ans: A, C, E
Feedback:
The symptoms of otosclerosis involve an insidious hearing loss. Initially, the affected person is unable to hear a whisper or someone speaking at a distance. In the earliest stages, the person's own voice sounds unusually loud, and the sound of chewing becomes intensified. Because of bone conduction, most of these persons can hear fairly well on the telephone, which provides an amplified signal. Many are able to hear better in a noisy environment. The pressure of otosclerotic bone on inner ear structures or the vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII) may contribute to the development of tinnitus, sensorineural hearing loss, and vertigo.