A 17-year-old high school student is diagnosed with serous otitis media. What is the expected result of the Rinne test?

In the case of serous otitis media, which is characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear without signs of acute infection, the Rinne test evaluates the sound conduction of air versus bone. Normally, sound should be heard better through air conduction (AC) than through bone conduction (BC), a finding that is typically seen in individuals with a healthy auditory system.

However, in the presence of serous otitis media, the fluid in the middle ear affects the transmission of sound through the air conduction pathway. This can lead to a scenario where bone conduction is perceived as better than air conduction, resulting in the Rinne test showing that BC > AC. This indicates that the middle ear has compromised function, which is characteristic of conditions leading to conductive hearing loss, such as serous otitis media.

In contrast, scenarios like lateralization to one ear (which would suggest specific defects or issues) or equal hearing in both ears would not align with the typical findings associated with this condition. Thus, the expected result of BC being greater than AC aligns with the understanding of how serous otitis media disrupts sound transmission through the affected ear.