ILE Test Prep
A patient/client with a draining ear is going to be tested with circumaural earphones.Which infection
control method should be used? ANS: place earphones with gloves
A patient/client has excessive hair in the ear canals that prevents viewing the tympanic membrane
through otoscopy. What approach should the hearing healthcare professional take? ANS: use a different
size speculum
While performing otoscopy, the hearing healthcare professional observes an obstructive bony growth in
the external auditory canal. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS: refer the
patient/client to a physician
Which assessment should a hearing healthcare professional use to determine hearing instrument
benefit for a patient/client? ANS: APHAB
A patient/client comes into the office for new hearing instruments. The patient/client fills out APHAB
before the fitting. The original APHAB revealed that the patient/client has difficulty when they go to
restaurants for weekly trivia, trouble in meetings, and on the telephone at work. The patient/client was
fit binaurally with rechargeable RICs set to first fit.When the patient/client returns to the office 2 weeks
post-fitting for a check-up, they fill out APHAB again, which shows no change in difficulty in
restaurants.Which adjustment should the hearing healthcare professional make? ANS: increase noise
management settings
A patient/client with binaural dual microphone hearing instruments reports difficulty understanding
passengers in the rear seat of the car when driving. What should the hearing healthcare professional
recommend? ANS: using omni-directional setting on both instruments
A patient/client reports that they seem to hear well, but occasionally, the hearing seems to get worse
and gets better after a few days. Sometimes when the hearing drops, the patient/client notices a mild
dizziness or spinning sensation. The last occurrence was six weeks ago. Otoscopy is unremarkable.
Testing reveals a symmetrical sloping mild to moderate sensory/neural hearing loss with word
,recognition 80% in both ears.What should the hearing healthcare professional do? ANS: refer
patient/client for medical evaluation
Cerumen will primarily affect which component of a canal hearing instrument? ANS: receiver
A patient/client with newer hearing instruments and poor aided word recognition scores struggles to
understand a friend's speech when out for coffee or driving in the car together. What should the hearing
healthcare professional recommend? ANS: wireless remote microphone
A 35-year-old patient's/client's pure tone testing reveals a symmetrical, normal to moderate,
sensory/neural hearing loss bilaterally. Word recognition scores are fair.What should the hearing
healthcare professional do? ANS: proceed with open-fit RICs
Air conduction audiometric test results indicate sloping mild to moderate hearing loss while bone
conduction thresholds indicate normal hearing. How should the hearing healthcare professional
proceed? ANS: mask for bone conduction
Refer to the exhibit.A patient/client presents to the clinic. Her adult son reports that she has not been
hearing well for decades. The patient/client is ready to pursue hearing instruments and wants to be
fitted immediately.Why should the hearing care professional recommend medical clearance? ANS: air-
bone gaps
A patient/client comes into the office with complaints of feedback and difficulty hearing. Visual
inspection of the hearing instrument reveals that the receiver tube is pushed into the case. The hearing
healthcare professional repairs the tube. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS:
Perform electroacoustic analysis
A hearing healthcare professional is performing word recognition testing with circumaural earphones.
The presentation level for the test ear is 75 dB HL. Which masking level should the hearing healthcare
professional use for the non-test ear? ANS: 55 dB HL
,A patient/client with new power BTE hearing instruments is scheduled for a post-fitting assessment. The
patient/client had a stroke many years ago, which affects certain aspects of speech and communication.
Which post-fitting evaluation method should the hearing healthcare professional use to validate
effective hearing instrument performance? ANS: Client Oriented Scale of Improvement
A patient/client presents with moderate to severe sloping bilateral sensory/neural loss. The patient
reports troubles with dexterity and understanding conversation on a cell phone. Which fitting should the
hearing healthcare professional recommend? ANS: BTE instruments with a large battery and Bluetooth
connectivity
A patient's/client's work environment includes both quiet and noisy areas. This requires the
patient/client to make constant adjustments to the hearing instruments' volume controls. Which
specific measurement will be most important to obtain during the patient's/client's hearing evaluation?
ANS: UCL
Refer to the exhibit. When fitting a RIC, what type of dome best fits the hearing loss for the right ear?
ANS: open
After initial insertion of an otoblock and subsequent otoscopic inspection, the hearing healthcare
professional notices reddening of the ear canal and a slight view of the eardrum.What action should the
hearing healthcare professional take prior to removing the otoblock? ANS: wear disposable gloves on
both hands
Which two pieces of information should a hearing healthcare professional acquire through otoscopic
examination prior to taking an ear impression? ANS: unusual contours or landmarks and general
diameter, length, and direction of ear canal
Refer to the exhibit. What is the likely cause of these test results? ANS: excessive background noise in
the test environment
A patient/client has a mild to moderate high frequency sensory/neural hearing loss. The patient/client is
a full-time nurse and must use a stethoscope regularly. What hearing instrument should the hearing
healthcare professional recommend? ANS: binaural CIC hearing instruments with SAV venting
, Which procedure ensures that the patient's/client's perceived amplification needs have been
addressed? ANS: sound field measurement
A patient/client with a longtime hearing loss has agreed to wear hearing instruments. The family has
been frustrated with the difficulty of communication in the home and is anxious for the patient/client to
hear normally. What should the hearing healthcare professional counsel the family to expect? ANS: The
patient/client will need time for the brain to adjust to new sounds
Refer to the exhibit. Which term describes this audiogram? ANS: asymmetrical
During a follow-up appointment, an 80-year old patient's/client's family reports that the patient/client is
still not able to hear any better with their new hearing instruments. The hearing instruments are
inspected and are functioning properly. What should the hearing healthcare professional do? ANS:
check data log information
Refer to the exhibit. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS: refer the
patient/client for cochlear implant candidacy
Refer to the exhibit. A patient's/client's audiometric test results are shown. Which testing procedure
requires masking? ANS: word recognition
When is an open fitting contra-indicated? ANS: with reverse slope hearing loss
A patient/client would normally come into the office alone for scheduled instrument cleaning. The
patient/client has recently suffered a stroke and has arrived at the office with a caregiver. How should
the hearing healthcare professional proceed in this situation? ANS: counsel caregiver on instrument
maintenance
A new patient/client reports three primary concerns with their hearing:
A patient/client with a draining ear is going to be tested with circumaural earphones.Which infection
control method should be used? ANS: place earphones with gloves
A patient/client has excessive hair in the ear canals that prevents viewing the tympanic membrane
through otoscopy. What approach should the hearing healthcare professional take? ANS: use a different
size speculum
While performing otoscopy, the hearing healthcare professional observes an obstructive bony growth in
the external auditory canal. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS: refer the
patient/client to a physician
Which assessment should a hearing healthcare professional use to determine hearing instrument
benefit for a patient/client? ANS: APHAB
A patient/client comes into the office for new hearing instruments. The patient/client fills out APHAB
before the fitting. The original APHAB revealed that the patient/client has difficulty when they go to
restaurants for weekly trivia, trouble in meetings, and on the telephone at work. The patient/client was
fit binaurally with rechargeable RICs set to first fit.When the patient/client returns to the office 2 weeks
post-fitting for a check-up, they fill out APHAB again, which shows no change in difficulty in
restaurants.Which adjustment should the hearing healthcare professional make? ANS: increase noise
management settings
A patient/client with binaural dual microphone hearing instruments reports difficulty understanding
passengers in the rear seat of the car when driving. What should the hearing healthcare professional
recommend? ANS: using omni-directional setting on both instruments
A patient/client reports that they seem to hear well, but occasionally, the hearing seems to get worse
and gets better after a few days. Sometimes when the hearing drops, the patient/client notices a mild
dizziness or spinning sensation. The last occurrence was six weeks ago. Otoscopy is unremarkable.
Testing reveals a symmetrical sloping mild to moderate sensory/neural hearing loss with word
,recognition 80% in both ears.What should the hearing healthcare professional do? ANS: refer
patient/client for medical evaluation
Cerumen will primarily affect which component of a canal hearing instrument? ANS: receiver
A patient/client with newer hearing instruments and poor aided word recognition scores struggles to
understand a friend's speech when out for coffee or driving in the car together. What should the hearing
healthcare professional recommend? ANS: wireless remote microphone
A 35-year-old patient's/client's pure tone testing reveals a symmetrical, normal to moderate,
sensory/neural hearing loss bilaterally. Word recognition scores are fair.What should the hearing
healthcare professional do? ANS: proceed with open-fit RICs
Air conduction audiometric test results indicate sloping mild to moderate hearing loss while bone
conduction thresholds indicate normal hearing. How should the hearing healthcare professional
proceed? ANS: mask for bone conduction
Refer to the exhibit.A patient/client presents to the clinic. Her adult son reports that she has not been
hearing well for decades. The patient/client is ready to pursue hearing instruments and wants to be
fitted immediately.Why should the hearing care professional recommend medical clearance? ANS: air-
bone gaps
A patient/client comes into the office with complaints of feedback and difficulty hearing. Visual
inspection of the hearing instrument reveals that the receiver tube is pushed into the case. The hearing
healthcare professional repairs the tube. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS:
Perform electroacoustic analysis
A hearing healthcare professional is performing word recognition testing with circumaural earphones.
The presentation level for the test ear is 75 dB HL. Which masking level should the hearing healthcare
professional use for the non-test ear? ANS: 55 dB HL
,A patient/client with new power BTE hearing instruments is scheduled for a post-fitting assessment. The
patient/client had a stroke many years ago, which affects certain aspects of speech and communication.
Which post-fitting evaluation method should the hearing healthcare professional use to validate
effective hearing instrument performance? ANS: Client Oriented Scale of Improvement
A patient/client presents with moderate to severe sloping bilateral sensory/neural loss. The patient
reports troubles with dexterity and understanding conversation on a cell phone. Which fitting should the
hearing healthcare professional recommend? ANS: BTE instruments with a large battery and Bluetooth
connectivity
A patient's/client's work environment includes both quiet and noisy areas. This requires the
patient/client to make constant adjustments to the hearing instruments' volume controls. Which
specific measurement will be most important to obtain during the patient's/client's hearing evaluation?
ANS: UCL
Refer to the exhibit. When fitting a RIC, what type of dome best fits the hearing loss for the right ear?
ANS: open
After initial insertion of an otoblock and subsequent otoscopic inspection, the hearing healthcare
professional notices reddening of the ear canal and a slight view of the eardrum.What action should the
hearing healthcare professional take prior to removing the otoblock? ANS: wear disposable gloves on
both hands
Which two pieces of information should a hearing healthcare professional acquire through otoscopic
examination prior to taking an ear impression? ANS: unusual contours or landmarks and general
diameter, length, and direction of ear canal
Refer to the exhibit. What is the likely cause of these test results? ANS: excessive background noise in
the test environment
A patient/client has a mild to moderate high frequency sensory/neural hearing loss. The patient/client is
a full-time nurse and must use a stethoscope regularly. What hearing instrument should the hearing
healthcare professional recommend? ANS: binaural CIC hearing instruments with SAV venting
, Which procedure ensures that the patient's/client's perceived amplification needs have been
addressed? ANS: sound field measurement
A patient/client with a longtime hearing loss has agreed to wear hearing instruments. The family has
been frustrated with the difficulty of communication in the home and is anxious for the patient/client to
hear normally. What should the hearing healthcare professional counsel the family to expect? ANS: The
patient/client will need time for the brain to adjust to new sounds
Refer to the exhibit. Which term describes this audiogram? ANS: asymmetrical
During a follow-up appointment, an 80-year old patient's/client's family reports that the patient/client is
still not able to hear any better with their new hearing instruments. The hearing instruments are
inspected and are functioning properly. What should the hearing healthcare professional do? ANS:
check data log information
Refer to the exhibit. How should the hearing healthcare professional proceed? ANS: refer the
patient/client for cochlear implant candidacy
Refer to the exhibit. A patient's/client's audiometric test results are shown. Which testing procedure
requires masking? ANS: word recognition
When is an open fitting contra-indicated? ANS: with reverse slope hearing loss
A patient/client would normally come into the office alone for scheduled instrument cleaning. The
patient/client has recently suffered a stroke and has arrived at the office with a caregiver. How should
the hearing healthcare professional proceed in this situation? ANS: counsel caregiver on instrument
maintenance
A new patient/client reports three primary concerns with their hearing:
