Editing Weber test (section)

{{Short description|Screening test for hearing}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2019}}

{{Infobox diagnostic |
  Name        = Weber test. |
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  ICD10       = |
  ICD9        = {{ICD9proc|95.43}} |
  MeshID      = |
  OPS301      = |
  OtherCodes  = |
}}
[[File:Weber_Test.jpg|thumb|The Weber test is administered by holding a vibrating tuning fork on top of the patient's head.]]
The '''Weber test''' is a screening [[test for hearing]] performed with a tuning fork.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Kong|first1=Erwin L.|title=Rinne Test|date=2019|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431071/|work=StatPearls|publisher=StatPearls Publishing|pmid=28613725|access-date=2019-04-24|last2=Fowler|first2=James B.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Wahid|first1=Nur Wahidah B.|title=Weber Test|date=2019|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526135/|work=StatPearls|publisher=StatPearls Publishing|pmid=30252391|access-date=2019-04-24|last2=Attia|first2=Maximos}}</ref> It can detect [[Unilateral hearing loss|unilateral (one-sided)]] [[conductive hearing loss]] (middle ear hearing loss) and unilateral [[sensorineural hearing loss]] (inner ear hearing loss).<ref name="Openstax Anatomy & Physiology attribution">{{cite book|last1=Betts|first1=J Gordon|last2=Desaix|first2=Peter|last3=Johnson|first3=Eddie|last4=Johnson|first4=Jody E|last5=Korol|first5=Oksana|last6=Kruse|first6=Dean|last7=Poe|first7=Brandon|last8=Wise|first8=James|last9=Womble|first9=Mark D|last10=Young|first10=Kelly A|title=Anatomy & Physiology|url=https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/16-3-the-cranial-nerve-exam|location=Houston|publisher=OpenStax CNX|isbn=978-1-947172-04-3|date=May 14, 2023|at=16.3 The Cranial Nerve Exam}}</ref> The test is named after [[Ernst Heinrich Weber]] (1795–1878).  Conductive hearing ability is mediated by the middle ear composed of the ossicles: the [[malleus]], the [[incus]], and the [[stapes]].  Sensorineural hearing ability is mediated by the inner ear composed of the cochlea with its internal basilar membrane and attached cochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII).  The outer ear consisting of the pinna, ear canal, and ear drum or tympanic membrane transmits sounds to the middle ear but does not contribute to the conduction or sensorineural hearing ability save for hearing transmissions limited by cerumen impaction (wax collection in the ear canal).

The Weber test has had its value as a screening test questioned in the literature.<ref name="pmid16434632">{{cite journal |vauthors=Bagai A, Thavendiranathan P, Detsky AS |title=Does this patient have hearing impairment? |journal=JAMA |volume=295 |issue=4 |pages=416–28 |date=January 2006 |pmid=16434632 |doi=10.1001/jama.295.4.416 |url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16434632|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mugunthan|first1=Kayalvili|last2=Doust|first2=Jenny|last3=Kurz|first3=Bodo|last4=Glasziou|first4=Paul|date=2014-08-04|title=Is there sufficient evidence for tuning fork tests in diagnosing fractures? A systematic review|journal=BMJ Open|volume=4|issue=8|pages=e005238|doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005238|issn=2044-6055|pmid=25091014|pmc=4127942}}</ref>