air-bone gap
Quick Summary
The "air-bone gap" in medicine refers to a difference in hearing test results between air conduction and bone conduction. This gap indicates a problem with how sound is transmitted through the middle ear.1
Normally, sound travels through the air to the eardrum, then vibrates tiny bones in the middle ear (ossicles) before reaching the inner ear. Bone conduction bypasses the outer and middle ear, stimulating the inner ear directly through vibrations of the skull bones.21
An air-bone gap occurs when bone conduction hearing is normal, but air conduction hearing is impaired. This suggests a conductive hearing loss, meaning there's an issue in the outer or middle ear, such as an ossicular interruption or middle ear infection, preventing sound from efficiently reaching the inner ear. This gap can help determine the maximum potential improvement through corrective surgery.31
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