Chapter 6 - Ear, Hearing, Balance

Question 1

The ear is split into three major sections:

Answer 1

Outer ear - to channel sound to the eardrum
Middle ear - to transmit vibrations of the eardrum to the fluid in the inner ear
Inner ear - translate fluid vibrations into electrical auditory nerve signals

Question 2

What does the Cochlea look like and what does it have inside it?

Answer 2

The cochlea is a bony structure shaped like a snail, filled with two fluids (endolymph and perilymph) and very small capillary cells

Question 3

The vestibular system is split over 2 chambers:

Answer 3

3 Semi-circular canals (roll, pitch and yaw) - filled with liquid and hairs

Otoliths (Utricle and Saccule):
Sense linear acceleration and gravity (>0.1m/s2)
-chalky and hairy

Question 4

_______ lowers the specific gravity of the liquid in the inner ear leading to erroneous signals from the otoliths and semi-circular canals

Answer 4

Alcohol

Question 5

3 types of hearing loss:

Answer 5

Conductive deafness
Noise induced hearing loss
Presbycusis - age

Question 6

When in accelerated flight, what parts of the ear detect acceleration caused by ‘g’ as well as any component of gravity caused by gravity.

Answer 6

Utricle and Saccule

Question 7

Motion sickness is a disagreement between accelerations sensed by the ___________ _____ and information from the ___.

Answer 7

vestibular system and information from the eye.