Weber's Test

A test to detect whether a hearing loss is sensory (i.e. inner ear and eighth nerve) or conductive (i.e. middle ear) in origin. A vibrating tuning fork is placed midline on the forehead. In a normal person the sound is heard equally in each ear. If the patient has a conductive hearing loss than the sound is heard best in the ear with the loss. If the patient has a sensory hearing loss then the sound is heard best in the unaffected ear.