A normal or "'positive Rinne "'test is when the sound heard outside the ear ( air conduction or AC ) is louder than the initial sound heard when the tuning fork end is placed against the skin on top of the mastoid process behind the ear ( bone conduction or BC ).
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Air conduction uses the apparatus of the ear ( pinna, eardrum and ossicles ) to amplify and direct the sound whereas bone conduction bypasses some or all of these and allows the sound to be transmitted directly to the inner ear albeit at a reduced volume, or via the bones of the skull to the opposite ear.
