Ch 2 The Human Ear & Simple Tests Of Hearing

Question 0

Tympanic Membrane

Answer 0

The ear drum

Question 1

Outer Ear

Answer 1

A shell-like protrusion from each side of the head, a canal through which sounds travel, and the tympanic membrane are all parts of the outer ear.

Question 2

Middle Ear

Answer 2

An air filled space with a chain of tiny bones, the third of which, the stapes, is the smallest in the human body.

Question 3

Inner Ear

Answer 3

Contains the cochlea and auditory nerve.

Question 4

Cochlea

Answer 4

An organ that is filled with fluids and many microscopic components, all of which serve to convert waves into a message that travels to the stem of the brain via the auditory nerve.

Question 5

Auditory Nerve

Answer 5

Connects the cochlea to the brain.

Question 12

Attentuation

Answer 12

A decrease in the strength of a sound. This is what occurs in conductive hearing loss.

Question 13

Erroneous Hearing Loss

Answer 13

Either the patient is faking a hearing problem, or there is some psychological disorder that manifested in the symptom of a hearing loss.

Question 14

Malingering

Answer 14

When a patient fakes a hearing problem.

Question 15

Psychogenic Hearing Loss

Answer 15

When a psychological disorder manifests in the symptom of a hearing loss.

Question 16

Schwabach Test

Answer 16

When two tuning forks are set into motion and one put on the mastoid process of the examiner and the other on the mastoid process of the patient. When both the examiner and the patient stop hearing the sound at the same time, this is called a normal schwabach. When the patient stops hearing before the examiner, this is called a diminished schwabach. When the examiner stops hearing before the patient, this is called a prolonged schwabach.

Question 17

Rinne Test

Answer 17

A comparison of air and bone conduction. The patient is asked to tell the examiner if the tuning fork is louder when it is on the mastoid process (bone conduction test) or in front of the ear (air conduction test)

Question 18

Occlusion Effect

Answer 18

When a person with normal hearing closes off the opening into the ear canal, but can hear a sound transmitted by bone conduction even louder than with the ear canal open.

Question 19

Bing Test

Answer 19

A hearing test that tests for conductive hearing loss. The ringing tuning fork is placed on the mastoid process while the examiner opens and closes the ear canal. A positive bing is when the patient hears a pulsating sound since with the ear canal closed, bone conduction is louder and with it open bone conduction is softer. A negative bing is when no change in volume or sound is noticed, which can point to a conductive hearing loss. If a person has normal hearing or sensorineural hearing loss, a positive bing will result. If a person has conductive hearing loss, a negative bing will result.

Question 20

Weber Test

Answer 20

A hearing test that tests lateralization. A ringing tuning fork is placed on the midline of a patient’s skull. Other places can be used, such as the middle of the upper teeth, the middle of the back of the head, etc. Patients are asked whether the sound is louder in one ear or the other. People with normal hearing or equal amounts of hearing loss in both ears will report a midline sensation. Patients with sensorineural hearing loss will report hearing the sound louder in the better ear. Patients with conductive hearing loss will report hearing the sound in their poorer ear.

Question 21

Stenger Principle

Answer 21

If two tones are identical in all ways except loudness are introduced simultaneously in both ears, only the louder tone will be perceived.

Question 22

Bone Conduction

Answer 22

Sound that enters the ear skipping over the outer and middle ear and going through just the inner ear.

Question 24

Normal Hearing

Answer 24

When air and bone conduction are at normal levels, meaning there are no hearing issues in the outer, middle, or inner ear.

Question 25

Conductive Hearing Loss

Answer 25

When there is an issue with air conduction hearing, meaning that the hearing deficiency is being caused by some issue in the outer or middle ear. In this case, a hearing test would bring back that bone conduction is fine, but air conduction is not.

Question 26

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Answer 26

When hearing loss is being caused by an issue in the inner ear. A hearing test would show that air and bone conduction would be equal, but lower than normal hearing. This is because the inner ear processes the sound that enters through both air conduction and bone conduction, so if there is a problem in the inner ear, it will look like there is a problem in the middle ear also.

Question 27

Mixed Hearing Loss

Answer 27

When there is hearing loss in both the middle and inner ear. In a hearing test, both air and bone conduction would come back as not normal, but air conduction would be worse than bone conduction. The reason this is is because if there is a problem in both the middle and inner ear, then bone conduction will be affected by the inner ear, whereas air conduction will be affected by the entire ear. This situation is quite rare, but not impossible.

Question 28

Air Conduction

Answer 28

Sound that enters the ear through the outer ear and goes through the middle ear on to the inner ear.