Which of the following defines bone conduction masking?

Bone conduction masking refers specifically to the process of applying a noise level that is sufficient to mask or cover up the perception of sound transmitted through bone conduction tests. In audiometry, bone conduction testing evaluates how well sound travels through the skull to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear structures. However, when there is a significant air-bone gap, meaning the air conduction thresholds are poorer than bone conduction thresholds, masking is used to ensure that only the ear being tested is responding to the sound. This is done by introducing noise to the non-test ear, which helps to isolate the response of the test ear.

By using an adequate level of masking noise in bone conduction tests, audiologists can obtain more accurate assessments of hearing ability and better determine the nature of a hearing loss. This distinguishes the concept of masking in the context of both air conduction and bone conduction assessments, affirming that the role of masking in bone conduction is primarily focused on ensuring there is no cross-hearing from one ear to the other when evaluating the test ear.