Which modality is primarily assessed using air conduction?

The modality primarily assessed using air conduction is the whole auditory system. Air conduction testing evaluates a person’s hearing sensitivity across the entire auditory pathway, starting from the outer ear and continuing through the middle ear to the inner ear and beyond to the auditory cortex in the brain.

This method provides a comprehensive understanding of how sounds are perceived by the entire hearing system. During air conduction testing, sounds are delivered through headphones, where the function of the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear can be collectively assessed based on the individual's responses to various frequencies and intensities of sound.

Assessing just the middle ear function would focus narrowly on how sound vibrations are transmitted through the ear structures, which wouldn’t provide a complete picture. Inner ear function, while a crucial component of hearing, is only one part of the entire auditory pathway. The auditory neural pathways deal specifically with how sound signals are processed and transmitted to the brain but do not encompass the entirety of auditory perception. Therefore, using air conduction tests gives a clearer and broader assessment of the whole auditory system rather than isolating specific areas.