Weber

Weber:

The purpose is to lateralize to the poor/affected ear. This narrows down which ear is the poor/affected ear.

Place the stem of the tuning fork on the top and midline of the forehead, and ask the patient “which side sounds louder or where they hear the sound”. (You can also do this on the bridge of the nose if needed) The sound will be perceived louder in the better ear. If both ears sound the same, the patient will report sound is central or in the middle. (This would be a typical result)

Clinical examples:

Normal/Typical: patient reports sound is in the middle or the same for both ears.

Sensorineural hearing loss: patient lateralizes to the good ear

Once you complete the Weber, move on to the Rinne to determine the type of hearing loss for the poor/affected ear.