SCFHS Classification Exam – Audiology Specialist: free practice test

Practice question Unit: Pediatrics

1. A3 weeks, as soon as the infant can track lights

   A three-week-old cannot reliably provide the conditioned head-turn response required for VRA.

2. B6 months ✓ Correct answer

   From about six months developmental age, head control and conditioning allow visual reinforcement audiometry.

3. CBirth

   Newborn testing uses other behavioural or physiological methods, not reliable conditioned VRA.

4. D5 years

   At five years, many children can manage play or conventional audiometry; this is not the starting age.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u1: Pediatrics; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Pediatrics

1. ASevere SNHL

   A 30 dB response does not indicate severe sensorineural loss.

2. BConductive loss from effusion ✓ Correct answer

   Flat type-B tympanograms with normal canal volume suggest effusion and a conductive component; medical review is appropriate.

3. CANSD

   This pattern does not establish auditory neuropathy, which needs appropriate physiological testing.

4. DNormal hearing with no follow-up needed

   Bilateral flat tympanograms and elevated responses should not be dismissed as normal without follow-up.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u1: Pediatrics; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Adults and Geriatrics

1. ACochlear loss

   A cochlear lesion does not classically produce this isolated crossed-pathway pattern with both ipsilateral reflexes preserved.

2. BNormal finding in elderly listeners

   Bilateral crossed-reflex absence is not assumed normal solely because of age.

3. CBrainstem (crossing pathway) lesion ✓ Correct answer

   Preserved ipsilateral arcs with absent contralateral arcs suggests a central crossing-pathway abnormality; interpret with the full test battery.

4. DBilateral conductive loss

   Bilateral conductive pathology would usually interfere with ipsilateral reflex measurement as well.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u2: Adults and Geriatrics; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Auditory Evoked Potentials

1. AIt enhances CM

   Averaging opposite polarities tends to cancel the polarity-following cochlear microphonic, not enhance it.

2. BIt is louder

   Stimulus level is a separate setting; alternation is about polarity, not loudness.

3. CIt prolongs wave V to beyond 10 ms

   A fixed prolongation of wave V is not the reason for avoiding alternation for CM detection.

4. DIt cancels the CM ✓ Correct answer

   CM reverses with stimulus polarity, so rarefaction and condensation should be examined separately rather than averaged together.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u3: Auditory Evoked Potentials; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Disorders and Syndromes

1. A0%, because both parents hear normally

   Normal hearing in both carriers does not remove their recessive transmission risk.

2. B25% ✓ Correct answer

   For Aa × Aa, one of four expected combinations is aa: 25% affected risk per pregnancy.

3. C100%

   Not every child inherits both recessive copies from two carriers.

4. D50%

   Fifty percent is the expected carrier proportion, not the affected proportion.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u4: Disorders and Syndromes; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Hearing Aids and Implantable Hearing Devices

1. A10 dB ✓ Correct answer

   Above the compression threshold, output increase is input increase ÷ ratio: 20 ÷ 2 = 10 dB.

2. B2 dB

   A 2 dB output rise would correspond to a much stronger 10:1 ratio.

3. C40 dB

   A 40 dB output rise for 20 dB input would be expansion, not 2:1 compression.

4. D20 dB

   A 20 dB output rise would be linear 1:1 amplification.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u5: Hearing Aids and Implantable Hearing Devices; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Counseling

1. ADiagnose major depression from the report alone

   A report of depression warrants attention but does not establish a psychiatric diagnosis by itself.

2. BAdjust hearing-aid gain as the only response

   Technical hearing-aid adjustment alone does not address reported depression and isolation.

3. CAcknowledge the impact, provide support and refer as needed ✓ Correct answer

   The audiologist should acknowledge psychosocial effects and facilitate appropriate support or referral.

4. DDelay discussing it until the next annual hearing review

   Delaying discussion may leave significant distress and support needs unaddressed.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u6: Counseling; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Documentation and Communication

1. AReplaced with symbols

   Replacing an unexplained abbreviation with unexplained symbols does not improve clarity.

2. BUsed freely

   Unexplained abbreviations can be interpreted differently by different readers.

3. CWritten in a different colour from the rest of the text

   Colour does not explain what an abbreviation means.

4. DDefined or avoided ✓ Correct answer

   Defining or avoiding an ambiguous abbreviation makes reports understandable across professions.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u7: Documentation and Communication; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Infection Control

1. ATime the surface must stay wet ✓ Correct answer

   Contact time is the manufacturer-specified time a treated surface must remain wet for the disinfectant to work.

2. BThe time between two patients

   The gap between patients may exceed or fall short of the required wet exposure.

3. CShelf life

   Shelf life describes product stability, not its exposure time on a surface.

4. DDrying time of hands

   Hand-drying time is not a surface-disinfectant contact-time requirement.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u8: Infection Control; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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Practice question Unit: Professionalism and Ethics

1. AAn equipment-calibration error

   Calibration errors affect equipment measurement accuracy, not clinician incentives.

2. BA breach of patient confidentiality

   The scenario concerns financial influence, not disclosure of confidential information.

3. CAn example of valid informed consent

   Manufacturer gifts do not constitute a patient consent process.

4. DA conflict of interest ✓ Correct answer

   A gift influencing device choice puts a personal commercial benefit in conflict with impartial patient care.

Reference: SCFHS exam blueprint, u9: Professionalism and Ethics; ASHA Practice Portal and guidelines; Katz Handbook of Clinical Audiology (7th ed.)

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