Ch. 4 - Hearing Flashcards
basilar membrane
thin strip of tissue within the cochlea that contains the hair cells which serve as the sensory receptors for the auditory system
hair cell
auditory receptor cell of the inner ear
pinna
visible part of the ear that protrudes from the head
tympanic membrane
eardrum
ossicles
malleus, incus, stapes, small bones that make up the middle ear and transfer vibration from the tympanum to the inner ear
cochlea
the spiral cavity of the inner ear containing the organ of Corti
organ of Corti
converts sound waves into neural signals, these signals are passed to the brain via the auditory nerve
pitch
frequency of a sound wave
decibels
measurement of loudness, generally associate with higher amplitude
timbre
a sound’s purity, it is affected by the complex interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves
binaural cue
two-eared cue to localize sound
conductive hearing loss
failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles
interaural level difference
sound coming from one side of the body is more intense at the closest ear because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through the head
interaural timing difference
small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear
place theory of pitch perception
different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies