SS Tuning forks have been used for around 300 years, originally for tuning musical instruments. They are now used for many other purposes, including:
Physics
Tuning forks are one of the most precise instruments in physics. They can be used to test the vibration of objects, such as a physician striking the fork and placing it on different parts of a patient's body.
Medicine
Tuning forks are used to diagnose hearing disorders and bone fractures.
Sound therapy
Tuning forks vibrate at a set frequency after being struck on the heel of the hand. They can be used to help with chronic stress, chronic pain, tiredness, headaches, insomnia, and more.
Tuning Fork SS
1. Neurological Examination (Vibration Sense)
This is the most common use today, particularly for screening patients for peripheral nerve damage.
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Tuning Fork: Typically the 128 Hz (Hertz) low-frequency, weighted tuning fork is used.
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Purpose: To test the vibration sense (or pallaesthesia) in the patient's extremities, which is an assessment of the function of the peripheral nerves and dorsal column pathways in the spinal cord.
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Procedure: A vibrating tuning fork is placed on bony prominences, such as the distal joint of the big toe or the ankle bone (malleolus).
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Diagnosis: Reduced or absent vibration sense is an early sign of peripheral neuropathy, commonly seen in patients with diabetes (diabetic neuropathy) or those with vitamin deficiencies, alcoholism, or certain other neurological conditions.
2. Hearing Tests (Audiology/ENT)
The tuning fork is a simple and quick tool used to differentiate between types of hearing loss.
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Tuning Fork: Typically the 512 Hz mid-frequency tuning fork is used for clarity of tone.
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Tests:
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Rinne Test: Compares Air Conduction (AC) of sound (vibrating fork near the ear canal) to Bone Conduction (BC) of sound (vibrating fork placed on the mastoid bone behind the ear). It helps to identify conductive hearing loss.
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Weber Test: A vibrating fork is placed on the center of the forehead (or crown of the head). It helps determine if a hearing loss is conductive (sound lateralizes to the worse ear) or sensorineural (sound lateralizes to the better ear).
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3. Orthopedics (Fracture Diagnosis)
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Purpose: To assist in the diagnosis of a bone fracture, particularly stress fractures or minor breaks, when X-ray imaging is not immediately available.
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Principle: A vibrating tuning fork is placed on a bony area away from the suspected fracture site. A break in the bone will disrupt the normal transmission of the vibration/sound, often causing pain at the fracture site or an abnormal sound when listening with a stethoscope.
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Sound Healing/Vibrational Therapy: Practitioners use different frequencies (often 136.1 Hz for the 'Om' frequency, or Solfeggio frequencies like 528 Hz) and weighted forks to apply vibration to the body.
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Purpose: To promote deep relaxation, reduce stress, balance energy fields (chakras/meridians), and ease muscle tension or pain.
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Acupressure/Acupuncture Points: They are sometimes placed on acupoints to stimulate energy flow without using needles.
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