Page 1 of 42
NBC HIS - National Board for Certification in
Hearing Instrument Sciences EXAM COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
QUESTION: Which of the following statements is FALSE when talking about audiometric
testing?
A. Headphones and insert earphones should produce comparable results
B. Bone conductor placement can affect the test results
C. Insert earphones can give more accurate results when testing a collapsed
ear canal
D. Ambient noise is more of a problem with insert earphones - ANSWER-D. Ambient noise is
more of a problem with insert earphones
QUESTION: A large dip at 6000 Hz in one ear only, with a positive tone decay, is indicative of:
A. Acute otitis media
B. Industrial deafness
C. A possible retrocochlear tumor
D. Acoustic trauma - ANSWER-C. A possible retrocochlear tumor
1
, Page 2 of 42
QUESTION: A patient who has worn hearing aids for a long time reports to your office saying
that his ears are "stopped up." He recently had a cold.
Which of the following will give the MOST information about this patient's
complaint?
A. Real ear measurement
B. Impedance audiometry
C. Pure tone air conduction audiometry
D. Pure tone bone conduction audiometry - ANSWER-B. Impedance audiometry
QUESTION: When troubleshooting a hearing instrument, the battery current drain was
measured.
A reading of 0.00 MA would MOST likely indicate which of the following?
A. Bad microphone
B. Bad receiver
C. Plugged acoustic filter
D. Dead instrument - ANSWER-D. Dead instrument
2
, Page 3 of 42
QUESTION: Which programmable adjustment would BEST help control loud sharp sounds?
A. Adjust the knee point higher
B. Reduce low frequencies
C. Increase the compression ratio
D. Reduce gain - ANSWER-C. Increase the compression ratio
The MOST common cause of sudden loss of hearing at 4000Hz is:
A. Presbycusis
B. Noise induced
C. Acoustic trauma
D. Acoustic neuroma - ANSWER-C. Acoustic trauma
QUESTION: During the course of taking a case history, which of the following information is
LEAST important?
A. Any unilateral tinnitus experienced
B. Any vertigo symptoms
C. Concussion in the previous six months
3
, Page 4 of 42
D. Sudden hearing Loss - ANSWER-C. Concussion in the previous six months
QUESTION: A younger mother comes in concerned that her hearing has gone down. In
taking her history, it's found that her mother also developed a hearing loss after
the birth of her first child. What would be the MOST probable etiology of this
problem?
A. Cholesteatoma
B. Otitis media
C. Meniere's disease
D. Otosclerosis - ANSWER-D. Otosclerosis
QUESTION: Which of the following conditions would NOT be a concern in establishing a pure
tone air conduction threshold?
A. Collapsed eternal auditory meatus
B. Congenital atresia
C. Otosclerosis
D. Impacted cerumen - ANSWER-C. Otosclerosis
4
NBC HIS - National Board for Certification in
Hearing Instrument Sciences EXAM COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
QUESTION: Which of the following statements is FALSE when talking about audiometric
testing?
A. Headphones and insert earphones should produce comparable results
B. Bone conductor placement can affect the test results
C. Insert earphones can give more accurate results when testing a collapsed
ear canal
D. Ambient noise is more of a problem with insert earphones - ANSWER-D. Ambient noise is
more of a problem with insert earphones
QUESTION: A large dip at 6000 Hz in one ear only, with a positive tone decay, is indicative of:
A. Acute otitis media
B. Industrial deafness
C. A possible retrocochlear tumor
D. Acoustic trauma - ANSWER-C. A possible retrocochlear tumor
1
, Page 2 of 42
QUESTION: A patient who has worn hearing aids for a long time reports to your office saying
that his ears are "stopped up." He recently had a cold.
Which of the following will give the MOST information about this patient's
complaint?
A. Real ear measurement
B. Impedance audiometry
C. Pure tone air conduction audiometry
D. Pure tone bone conduction audiometry - ANSWER-B. Impedance audiometry
QUESTION: When troubleshooting a hearing instrument, the battery current drain was
measured.
A reading of 0.00 MA would MOST likely indicate which of the following?
A. Bad microphone
B. Bad receiver
C. Plugged acoustic filter
D. Dead instrument - ANSWER-D. Dead instrument
2
, Page 3 of 42
QUESTION: Which programmable adjustment would BEST help control loud sharp sounds?
A. Adjust the knee point higher
B. Reduce low frequencies
C. Increase the compression ratio
D. Reduce gain - ANSWER-C. Increase the compression ratio
The MOST common cause of sudden loss of hearing at 4000Hz is:
A. Presbycusis
B. Noise induced
C. Acoustic trauma
D. Acoustic neuroma - ANSWER-C. Acoustic trauma
QUESTION: During the course of taking a case history, which of the following information is
LEAST important?
A. Any unilateral tinnitus experienced
B. Any vertigo symptoms
C. Concussion in the previous six months
3
, Page 4 of 42
D. Sudden hearing Loss - ANSWER-C. Concussion in the previous six months
QUESTION: A younger mother comes in concerned that her hearing has gone down. In
taking her history, it's found that her mother also developed a hearing loss after
the birth of her first child. What would be the MOST probable etiology of this
problem?
A. Cholesteatoma
B. Otitis media
C. Meniere's disease
D. Otosclerosis - ANSWER-D. Otosclerosis
QUESTION: Which of the following conditions would NOT be a concern in establishing a pure
tone air conduction threshold?
A. Collapsed eternal auditory meatus
B. Congenital atresia
C. Otosclerosis
D. Impacted cerumen - ANSWER-C. Otosclerosis
4
