Collapse of the ear canal during masking for bone conduction.

Although it is well recognized that collapse of the external meatus can mimic a conductive hearing loss in the test ear, attention must also be directed to the masked ear during masked bone conduction threshold testing. Failure to recognize collapse of the masked ear may result in a false air-bone gap in the test ear. Two such cases are presented and the mechanism analyzed. Suggestions as to identification and resolution of this problem are discussed.