Locus of the lesion in recruiting ears.

Abstract

The place of loudness recruitment testing in otological diagnosis has been recognized for more than 10 years. However, until recently, the diagnostic value of such tests was limited to the differentiation of conductive and perceptive types of hearing losses. The value of these procedures with respect to the further delineation of the anatomical locus of the lesion in perceptive losses was not realized. With the recent publication of recruitment studies on abnormal ears of various types, the diagnostic value of recruitment testing was increased significantly. De Bruine-Altes 3 was one of the first to include enough varieties of verified causative classifications to make general delineating conclusions; however, there was still a need for data on persons with eighth nerve lesions. Dix, Hallpike, and Hood 7 were among the first to supply such information and to call attention to the value of recruitment testing in differentiating cochlear and noncochlear lesions in