Recruitment test. Recruitment is a phenomenon where a sound of a particular intensity becomes abnormally loud and intolerable to a patient. Patients with recruitment experience an inability to hear low-intensity sounds in the affected ear, but high-intensity sounds are perceived as equally loud or even louder than in a normal hearing ear. Recruitment is commonly seen in patients with cochlear dysfunction, making them poor candidates for hearing aids.
The Alternate Binaural Loudness Balance (ABLB) test is used to detect recruitment in unilateral cases. In this test, a tone, such as 1000 Hz, is played alternately to the normal and affected ear, with the intensity in the affected ear adjusted to match the loudness in the normal ear. The test begins at 20 dB above the threshold of the deaf ear and is repeated at every 20 dB increase until the loudness is matched or the limits of the audiometer are reached. In cases of conductive and neural deafness, the initial difference is maintained throughout, while in cochlear lesions, partial, complete, or over-recruitment may be observed.
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Learning resources.
- Scott-Brown, Textbook of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.
- Glasscock-Shambaugh, Textbook of Surgery of the Ear.
- Logan Turner, Textbook of Diseases of The Nose, Throat and Ear Head And Neck Surgery.
- Rob and smith, Textbook of Operative surgery.
- P L Dhingra, Textbook of Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat.
- Hazarika P, Textbook of Ear Nose Throat And Head Neck Surgery Clinical Practical.
- Mohan Bansal, Textbook of Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat Head and Neck surgery.
- Anirban Biswas, Textbook of Clinical Audio-vestibulometry.
- W. Arnold, U. Ganzer, Textbook of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.
- Salah Mansour, Textbook of Comprehensive and Clinical Anatomy of the Middle Ear.
- Susan Standring, Gray’s Anatomy.
- Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology.
Author:
Dr. Rahul Bagla
MBBS (MAMC, Delhi) MS ENT (UCMS, Delhi)
Fellow Rhinoplasty & Facial Plastic Surgery.
Renowned Teaching Faculty
Mail: msrahulbagla@gmail.com
India