What is typically true regarding the relationship between air conduction and bone conduction in mixed hearing loss?

In mixed hearing loss, both air conduction and bone conduction thresholds may indeed be elevated. This condition occurs when there are issues in both the outer/middle ear (affecting air conduction) and the inner ear (affecting bone conduction). As a result, the individual experiences a reduction in hearing ability through both pathways.

In mixed hearing loss, it is common to observe an air-bone gap, which is a difference between air conduction and bone conduction thresholds. The presence of this gap indicates that while there are conductive components (related to air conduction), the bone conduction is also affected, leading to elevated thresholds for both types of conduction. Thus, it is accurate to say that both air and bone conduction thresholds can be elevated in this type of hearing loss.

The other choices are not representative of the characteristics of mixed hearing loss; air conduction thresholds are not always better, bone conduction thresholds can be worse than air conduction, and the presence of air-bone gaps is a hallmark of this condition.