The Rinne test is primarily used to compare what types of conduction?

The Rinne test is designed to assess the relationship between bone conduction and air conduction of sound. In this test, a tuning fork is struck and placed on the mastoid bone (bone conduction), and then it is moved to the front of the ear canal (air conduction). The primary purpose is to determine which method of hearing is better. Normally, air conduction is superior to bone conduction, indicating normal hearing or sensory-neural hearing loss. If bone conduction is better than air conduction, this suggests a conductive hearing loss.

In the context of this test, the other options refer to different aspects of hearing assessments that are not the focus of the Rinne test. For instance, air conduction to speech perception isn't directly assessed by this test, as it specifically evaluates the methods of sound conduction rather than the perception of speech. Similarly, direct sound to ambient noise pertains to different acoustic environments rather than the conduction pathways being tested. Lastly, tympanic membrane compliance to auditory nerve response involves more complex audiometric testing, which is not the purpose of the Rinne test. Thus, the correct choice highlights the essential function of the Rinne test in comparing the two types of conduction.