Chapter 11: Auditory Flashcards
What is sound?
Audible variations in air pressure
What is compressed ai?
Particles that are packed close together
What is rarefied air?
Particles that are spread out
What does compressed air create in air pressure?
Condensation
What does rarefied air create in air pressure?
Rarefaction
What is cycle?
Distance between successive compressed patches
What is pitch (sound frequency)?
Number of cycles per second
Hertz (Hz)
What is intensity (amplitude)?
Size of the pressure variation away from the constant atmospheric pressure
What is phase?
Location of the sine wave relative to some time point
What is the range of frequencies that are perceived as sound for humans?
20 Hz to 20KHz
What is the outer ear?
Pinna conducts sounds into the auditory canal towards the tympanic membrane
What are the parts of the middle ear?
Tympanic membrane, ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes)
What is the inner ear?
Cochlea
What is the simplified version of auditory transduction?
- Sound waves move tympanic membrane
- Tympanice membrane moves ossicles
- Ossicles move membrane at oval window
- Motion at oval window moves fluid in cochlea
- Movement of fluid in cochlea causes response in sensory neurons
What does the middle ear do?
Amplifies sound
What are the mechanisms used to overcome energy mismatch between air and water in the ear?
Lever-arm ratio and area ratio
What is the lever-arm ratio?
The ossicles act as levers. The malleus arm is longer than the incus arm. Thus, the level action multiples the force around 1.3 times