STUDY QUESTIONS FOR ILE 2026/2027 | PRACTICE QUESTIONS,
ANSWERS & COMPREHENSIVE ILE EXAM REVIEW
B - When the right A/C threshold is 10 dB and the left A/C threshold is 80 dB what will occur once 3 5dB
increases of masking have been presented to the right ear?
A) Over masking
B) Under masking
C) Central masking
D) Effective masking
C - Spondees are used for determining _____________?
A) MCL
B) UCL
C) SRT
D) WRS
A - A 31 yr old female patient/client has a bilateral conductive hearing loss. She reports that her mother
had a stapedectomy when she was about her same age. What is the most likely cause of the conductive
component of our patient's/client's hearing loss?
A) Otosclerosis
B) Otitis media
C) Ototoxicity
D) Disarticulation
B - Which of the following is an octave?
A) 500- 750 Hz
B) 250- 500 Hz
C) 2K- 8K Hz
D) 750- 2K Hz
A - When headphones are used when should speech audiometry be masked?
A) When there is a 40 dB difference between the best B/C threshold and presentation level
B) When there is a 15 dB or more air-bone gaps for the better ear
C) When there is a 10 dB or more air-bone gaps for the better ear
D) You never need to mask for speech audiometry
A - Which infection control process refers to the killing of 100% of germs?
A) Sterilization
B) Cleaning
C) Disinfecting
,D) None of the above
A - When a patient/client reports difficulty hearing words like sip/tip/ship, but can hear words like
door/floor/more. Where would the hearing healthcare provider expect there to be a hearing loss on the
audiogram?
A) Hearing loss in the high frequencies
B) Hearing loss in the mid frequencies
C) Hearing loss in the low frequencies
D) Degree of hearing loss cannot be determined from speech results
A - Which of the following is the preferred order for audiometric testing?
A) MCL before WRS
B) Bone conduction before air conduction
C) Speech UCL before SRT
D) 500 Hz before 1K Hz
C - Which frequencies are usually affected when a noise induced hearing loss is suspected?
A) 250- 750 Hz
B) 1500- 3000 Hz
C) 3000- 6000 Hz
D) 750- 1500 Hz
C - Which of the following statements is most true about the use of gloves?
A) Latex gloves should be used for ear impressioning
B) Gloves can be saved to be used during a different appointment with the same patient/client
C) Gloves are considered one-time use and should be disposed of after each use
D) Gloves can be cleaned and reused if properly sanitized in cold soak bath
B - When the bone conduction threshold is 15 dB or better than the air conduction threshold what
action should occur?
A) Mask all bone conduction thresholds
B) Apply appropriate masking to NTE to obtained masked bone conduction threshold
C) Apply appropriate masking to NTE to obtained masked air conduction threshold
D) Immediate medical referral for air-bone gaps
C - Why is it important to determine if there is a PTA/SRT discrepancy?
A) To determine dynamic range
B) To determine level for MCL which effects the level for WRS testing
C) To determine if malingering or misunderstanding of directions is occurring during pure tones
D) To determine needs for masking pure tones
A - When establishing UCL/LDL/TD it is important that _______________________________.
, A) The face is observed for any discomfort (grimace, eyebrows, raise, etc)
B) They indicate when the sound is slightly loud
C) They indicate when the sound is unbearable
D) They indicate when the sound is comfortable
C - Using the audiogram, what type of hearing loss is indicated for the left ear? (Audiogram shows mild
to severe sloping SNHL AD and a flat mild CDHL AS)
A) Normal hearing
B) Mixed hearing loss
C) Conductive hearing loss
D) Sensorineural hearing loss
A - When masking for air-conduction the initial masking level is how many dB greater than the NTE
threshold?
A) 10 dB
B) 20 dB
C) 40 dB
D) 0 dB
D - Ambient room noise can have what effect during un-occluded bone conduction testing?
A) All frequencies will present poorer
B) Low frequencies will present better
C) High frequencies will present poorer
D) Low frequencies will present poorer
B - When there is a 15-20 dB difference between an octave what should occur
A) Continue testing octaves
B) Test the inter-octave
C) Apply masking for air conduction
D) Apply masking for bone conduction
B - When masking for puretones which type of masking noise is most effective?
A) Speech noise
B) Narrowband noise
C) White noise
D) Pink noise
B - At 2K Hz the best bone conduction threshold is a 30 dB HL. The air conduction threshold for the right
ear is at 45 dB HL and for the left ear at 50 dB HL. The hearing healthcare provider wants to find the left
masked bone conduction threshold. How should the transducers be set for masking?
A) A/C: right and left; B/C: left mastoid
ANSWERS & COMPREHENSIVE ILE EXAM REVIEW
B - When the right A/C threshold is 10 dB and the left A/C threshold is 80 dB what will occur once 3 5dB
increases of masking have been presented to the right ear?
A) Over masking
B) Under masking
C) Central masking
D) Effective masking
C - Spondees are used for determining _____________?
A) MCL
B) UCL
C) SRT
D) WRS
A - A 31 yr old female patient/client has a bilateral conductive hearing loss. She reports that her mother
had a stapedectomy when she was about her same age. What is the most likely cause of the conductive
component of our patient's/client's hearing loss?
A) Otosclerosis
B) Otitis media
C) Ototoxicity
D) Disarticulation
B - Which of the following is an octave?
A) 500- 750 Hz
B) 250- 500 Hz
C) 2K- 8K Hz
D) 750- 2K Hz
A - When headphones are used when should speech audiometry be masked?
A) When there is a 40 dB difference between the best B/C threshold and presentation level
B) When there is a 15 dB or more air-bone gaps for the better ear
C) When there is a 10 dB or more air-bone gaps for the better ear
D) You never need to mask for speech audiometry
A - Which infection control process refers to the killing of 100% of germs?
A) Sterilization
B) Cleaning
C) Disinfecting
,D) None of the above
A - When a patient/client reports difficulty hearing words like sip/tip/ship, but can hear words like
door/floor/more. Where would the hearing healthcare provider expect there to be a hearing loss on the
audiogram?
A) Hearing loss in the high frequencies
B) Hearing loss in the mid frequencies
C) Hearing loss in the low frequencies
D) Degree of hearing loss cannot be determined from speech results
A - Which of the following is the preferred order for audiometric testing?
A) MCL before WRS
B) Bone conduction before air conduction
C) Speech UCL before SRT
D) 500 Hz before 1K Hz
C - Which frequencies are usually affected when a noise induced hearing loss is suspected?
A) 250- 750 Hz
B) 1500- 3000 Hz
C) 3000- 6000 Hz
D) 750- 1500 Hz
C - Which of the following statements is most true about the use of gloves?
A) Latex gloves should be used for ear impressioning
B) Gloves can be saved to be used during a different appointment with the same patient/client
C) Gloves are considered one-time use and should be disposed of after each use
D) Gloves can be cleaned and reused if properly sanitized in cold soak bath
B - When the bone conduction threshold is 15 dB or better than the air conduction threshold what
action should occur?
A) Mask all bone conduction thresholds
B) Apply appropriate masking to NTE to obtained masked bone conduction threshold
C) Apply appropriate masking to NTE to obtained masked air conduction threshold
D) Immediate medical referral for air-bone gaps
C - Why is it important to determine if there is a PTA/SRT discrepancy?
A) To determine dynamic range
B) To determine level for MCL which effects the level for WRS testing
C) To determine if malingering or misunderstanding of directions is occurring during pure tones
D) To determine needs for masking pure tones
A - When establishing UCL/LDL/TD it is important that _______________________________.
, A) The face is observed for any discomfort (grimace, eyebrows, raise, etc)
B) They indicate when the sound is slightly loud
C) They indicate when the sound is unbearable
D) They indicate when the sound is comfortable
C - Using the audiogram, what type of hearing loss is indicated for the left ear? (Audiogram shows mild
to severe sloping SNHL AD and a flat mild CDHL AS)
A) Normal hearing
B) Mixed hearing loss
C) Conductive hearing loss
D) Sensorineural hearing loss
A - When masking for air-conduction the initial masking level is how many dB greater than the NTE
threshold?
A) 10 dB
B) 20 dB
C) 40 dB
D) 0 dB
D - Ambient room noise can have what effect during un-occluded bone conduction testing?
A) All frequencies will present poorer
B) Low frequencies will present better
C) High frequencies will present poorer
D) Low frequencies will present poorer
B - When there is a 15-20 dB difference between an octave what should occur
A) Continue testing octaves
B) Test the inter-octave
C) Apply masking for air conduction
D) Apply masking for bone conduction
B - When masking for puretones which type of masking noise is most effective?
A) Speech noise
B) Narrowband noise
C) White noise
D) Pink noise
B - At 2K Hz the best bone conduction threshold is a 30 dB HL. The air conduction threshold for the right
ear is at 45 dB HL and for the left ear at 50 dB HL. The hearing healthcare provider wants to find the left
masked bone conduction threshold. How should the transducers be set for masking?
A) A/C: right and left; B/C: left mastoid
