Whispered Voice Test

Performing the Whispered Voice Test:

1. Stand behind the patient’s field of vision. This eliminates the possibility of lip-reading. 2. Gently occlude and rub the external auditory canal of the non-tested ear.

3. Ask the patient to repeat a set of 3 different random numbers (e.g., 6,1,9) presented to the tested ear at four decreasing levels of loudness: conversational voice at 6 inches and at 2 feet from the ear, and whispered voice at 6 inches and at 2 feet from the ear. Exhale completely prior to testing with whispered voice.

Scoring:

A passing score is given if the patient can repeat all three numbers correctly at each level of loudness or achieve greater than 50% success over three successive triplet sets.

Failure to pass at each level of voice testing is considered a positive test for hearing impairment. Failure to hear a whisper at 2 feet indicates hearing loss and may be the most discriminant test of the set.

Source:

Macphee GJA, Crowther JA, McAlpine CH. A simple screening test for hearing impairment in elderly patients. Age Ageing. 1988;17(5):347-351.

https://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/igec/tools/sensory/whisperedVoice.pdf