Chapter 5 Part 4

Question 1

Why is the auditory sense important?

Answer 1

plays a crucial role in detecting danger and social communication

Question 2

What does the auditory system do?

Answer 2

designed to convert sound waves and vibrations of the air into neural impulses

Question 3

What makes sound waves unique?

Answer 3

sound waves have two distinct qualities that help make out the sound

Question 4

Frequency

Answer 4

the measurement of the number of sound waves completed in a certain amount of time

Measured in Hertz (represents cycles per second)

Measures the pitch of a sound

Humans can hear sounds up to 2,000-5,000 Hz

Question 5

Amplitude

Answer 5

the measurement of the strength of a cycle

Higher peaks and lower bottoms represent a higher amplitude

Responsible for measuring the loudness of a sound

Loudness of a sound is measured in decibels (dB)

Question 6

Absolute Pitch

Answer 6

refers to the ability of recognizing an individual note without any distractions
1 to 10,000 people in Western Countries have absolute pitch

Question 7

Tone Deaf

Answer 7

unable to recognize the difference in pitch

Question 8

How do our ears respond to loud sounds?

Answer 8

contracting the muscles around the ear’s opening to allow less sound waves to enter

Question 9

Cocktail Party Effect

Answer 9

allows you to filter out which sounds are not important to you

Question 10

What are the four ways to localize sounds?

Answer 10

General Loudness, Loudness in each ear, Timing, Adjusting your head and body

Question 11

General Loudness

Answer 11

Using the loudness of a sound to assess the distance between yourself and the sound

Question 12

Loudness in each ear

Answer 12

The ear closer to the sound hears a louder noise than the ear further away from the sound

Question 13

Timing

Answer 13

Assessing the time in which the sound wave hits a ear

The sound wave reaches the other ear at a different time in its cycle creating a phase difference

Helpful for assessing low-frequency noises

Question 14

Adjusting your head and body

Answer 14

Assesses how the sound changes due to movement of head and body and allows you to approximate the distance of the sound

Question 15

What are the two types of hearing loss?

Answer 15

Conduction and nerve deafness

Question 16

Nerve Deafnesss

Answer 16

Results from damage or malfunctioning in the auditory nerve of the brain

Question 17

Tinnitus

Answer 17

Ringing of the ear

Happens to 1 every 200 people

Various causes including abnormalities in the auditory system

Question 18

Frequency Theory

Answer 18

Different sound frequencies are converted into different rates of action potential

Question 19

Place theory

Answer 19

Difference in sound frequency that activate different regions of the basilar membrane

Question 20

Basilar Membrane

Answer 20

a part of your inner ear that helps you hear. It’s like a tiny, flexible ruler that sorts out sound waves!

Question 21

First Step of Hearing

Answer 21

Sound waves enter ear and deflect tympanic membrane (ear drum)

Question 22

Second Step of Hearing

Answer 22

Vibrations of the tympanic membrane strike the ossicles (maleus, incus, and stapes). Stapes hits oval window

Question 23

Third Step of Hearing

Answer 23

Vibrations of the oval window create waves in the cochlea fluid, which deflect the basilar membrane that sorts out the sound waves

Question 24

Fourth Step of Hearing

Answer 24

The hair cells communicate with auditory nerve, which sends neural impulses to the brain

Question 25

Fifth Step of hearing

Answer 25

Signal travels to the brainstem, thalamus, and auditory cortex

Question 26

Sixth step of hearing

Answer 26

Signals travel to auditory association areas in the cortex

Question 27

Conduction Deafness

Answer 27

An obstacle (wax buildup, ear drum damage) that blocks the ears from processing sound waves