Which method determines cochlear sensitivity by stimulating the entire skull?

The method that determines cochlear sensitivity by stimulating the entire skull is bone conduction audiometry. This technique involves placing a vibrator element on the skull, which transmits sound vibrations directly to the cochlea through the bones of the skull. As a result, it effectively evaluates the sensitivity of the inner ear and bypasses the outer and middle ear, providing valuable insight into cochlear function.

Bone conduction audiometry is particularly useful in differentiating between conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss. It provides crucial data about the functioning of the cochlea and auditory pathways without the interference of other structures of the ear.

In contrast, pure tone audiometry primarily assesses hearing sensitivity using air conduction through headphones, while speech audiometry evaluates the ability to understand speech. Immittance audiometry measures middle ear function and does not assess cochlear sensitivity directly. Thus, bone conduction audiometry stands out as the method focused specifically on stimulating the whole skull to gauge cochlear response.