JINGUMAE Ear, Nose and Throat CLINIC

   Special Hearing Examination Consultation

Benkei Trench　　　© Y.KOSEKI

       This Consultation by Appointment is for those patients who are deemed to require more thorough examinations not available with ordinary clinic visits due to time factors. Typical examples are: speech audiometry for the fitting of the　hearing aid, checking the level of recovery for patients who have recently underwent a day surgery restoring their ear drums, plus other examinations using Oto-Accoustic Emissions (OAE for examining the inner ear) and Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR for examination of electroencephalogram), a test performed to help diagnosis of hearing loss. These examinations are usually not offered at smaller clinics.

　　Case Study

     * ABR proved to help diagnosis (a case like this is not common, but shown here as one sample and reference):

                   Patient: Male, 30 years of age

        Main complaint: Left side Ear Ringing

     A regular hearing test revealed as seen below, a case of a slight hearing loss of the left ear, but because of a hearing fluctuation, we went ahead with the ABR Test.

Hearing Test: Red is for the right ear; Blue for the left.

Top part shows response to little sounds, Lower part for louder sounds, Left side for lower sounds, Right side for higher sounds  

       The ABR Test Result

Right: Normal     ( III-Wave 3.39msec; V-Wave 5.89msec) Left: Abnormal   ( III-Wave 4.54msec; V-Wave 7.97msec)                                                                                      --  interpeak latencies are prolonged.  

     If the ABR Test reveals any prolongation of III and V waves, we have to question the possibility of an "acoustic tumor". This patient was referred to a nearby hospital for further tests with MRI.

MRI  Test

     A large tumor, slightly bigger than 4 cm was found using the MRI. An acoustic tumor (a kind of brain tumor) was suspected. The patient was referred to a noted hospital with most  experience in this field.

     A case like this is not very common. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about  becoming a victim of such a case. However, without proper testings, the case may have been dropped as a simple hearing problem. I hope this illustrates the power of special testing equipments such as ABR.

Cappadocia  (Turkey)　　　© Y.KOSEKI

JINGUMAE Ear, Nose and Throat CLINIC

6-1-5　Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo, JAPAN