Audiology Flashcards
How might ear infections negative affect learning in children?
Spoken language acquisition The use of grammar and syntax Development of vocabulary and langauge concepts Auditory memory and percpetion skills Social maturation
What is the overall impact of hearing loss in an individual’s health?
Progressive physical, psychosocial, and cognitive decline
What is early detection hearing intervention (EDHI)?
Screening every baby born for hearing impairments. Goal is to minimize the lifetime cost for severe to profound hearing loss.
The lifetime cost for severe to profound hearing loss is [smaller/greater] in younger populations than older populations.
Greater. They have to live with the loss for the rest of their lives, and they suffer more consequences due to the loss being present throughout their development.
What are ENTs?
Ear, nose, and throat physicians
What are the two pathways of hearing?
Air conduction
Bone conduction
What are the two audiological divisions/mechanisms?
Conductive mechanism
Sensorineural mechanism
What are the 4 anatomical divisions?
Outer ear
Middle ear
Inner ear
Auditory nerve
How do bone conduction hearing aids work?
Bypass the outer and middle ear and directly stimulate the inner ear
What is the function of the outer ear?
Slight amplification
Which two nerves is the auditory nerve made up of?
Vestibular nerve
Cochlear nerve
How can the facial nerve be involved in hearing?
A branch of the facial nerve runs close to the inner ear, and damage to the facial nerve can cause unilateral hearing loss, dizziness, and numbness in the face.
What is the eustachian tube?
A tube that runs from the back of the nasal canal and equalizes the pressure on either side of the ear drum.
Why do people with chronic middle ear problems have issues with altitudes?
Their eustachian tubes tend to not work as well, so equalizing pressures is painful for them.
What are the 3 middle ear bones?
Malleus, incus, stapes
What is atresia of the ear canal?
Abnormal closing or absence of the ear canal due to fusion of the bones
What is microtia?
Malformation of the outer ear/pinna
What is a treatment option for microtia?
Reconstruction with rib cartilage
Why is the treatment for atresia not drilling in a hole?
The hole tends to close over time even when the ear is re-opened.
The facial nerve is too close to the ear canal, and its location is different in every person, such that the surgery could damage it and lead to even more problems (e.g. facial palsy).
What is external otitis?
i.e. Swimmer’s ear. Inflammation of the ear canal.
True or false: External otitis will cause hearing loss.
False, unless it prevents you from wearing hearing aids.
What is cerumen?
Ear wax
When does cerumen become a problem?
Only if there is a lot of wax and it completely occludes the ear canal. It’s often not the cause of hearing loss.
Why is too much cleaning of the ear canal bad?
It may push cerumen/wax down to where natural migration of the wax can no longer take place.
What can be used to break down stubborn cerumen? What is a contraindication?
Peroxide.
Middle ear infections are a contraindication.
What is a characteristic of a healthy tympanic membrane?
“The cone of light” can be observed on the surface, anteriorly and inferiorly (4-5 o’clock).
What does a perforated ear drum look like?
The ear drum has a partial hole and is red. Has fluid draining out of the hole.
What does ear inflammation look like?
Red. There may be some scar tissue from prolonged inflammation. No cone of light.
What does an obliterated ear drum look like?
No membrane is present, only a hole in its place.
How are middle ear diseases often developed?
Bacterial are drawn up the eustachian tube from the nasal cavity.
Why do almost all children experience a middle ear infection?
Children have much shallower (i.e. not as steeply angled) eustachian tube, so it’s much easier for bacterial to travel up the tube.
What is otitis media (OM)?
Middle ear infection
What is serous otitis media (OM)?
Middle ear infection with fluid buildup behind the ear drum
What material do bone conduction devices use?
Titanium
How does noise impact hair cells?
High volume of noise for prolonged time can damage both inner and outer hair cells.
What is presbycusis?
Age-related hearing loss
When does presbycusis usually hit?
> 50 years of age
What type of hearing loss is presbycusis typically?
A sloping high-frequency loss. The audiogram shows a slope to the right, meaning that higher frequencies are more difficult to hear.
True or False: If a 70 year old has presbycusis, then they have normal hearing for their age.
False. They still have abnormal hearing.
Why are high-frequency sounds important for people?
High frequencies hold the most information for speech.
What is acoustic neuroma?
Impingement of the auditory nerve due to tumor, etc.
When are hearing aids vs. cochlear implants used?
Hearing aides: For people whose inner ears work. Work with acoustic signals.
Cochlear implants: For people with chronic or congenital inner ear problems. Work with electrical signals.
Why do so few people choose treatment for their hearing losses?
People have a bias against hearing losses, that only old people experience them.
