Health Assessment: Ears

Question 1

What are the ears?

Answer 1

The sensory organ for hearing and equilibrium

Question 2

What are the three parts of the ear?

Answer 2

External ear
Middle ear
Inner ear

Question 3

What is the external ear called?

Answer 3

The Auricle or Pinna and it consists of movable cartilage and skin

Question 4

What is the external ear?

Answer 4

The external ear has a characteric shape and serves to funnel sound waves into its opening which is the external auditory canal

Question 5

What does the auditory canal do

Answer 5

Its lined with glands that secret cerumen which is a yellow waxy material that lubricates and protect the ear

Question 6

What does wax do?

Answer 6

It forms a sticky barrier that helps keep foreign bodies from entering and reaching the sensitive tympanic membrane

Question 7

What does the typmanic membrane or eardrum separate?

Answer 7

It separates the external and middle ear

Question 8

What is the tympanic membrane?

Answer 8

It is a translucent membrane of a pearly gray color and a prominent cone of light in the anteriorinferior quandrant

Question 9

Describe the drum

Answer 9

It is oval and slightly concave, it is pulled in at its center by one of the middle ear ossicles called the malleus

Question 10

What are parts of the malleus that show through the translucent drum?

Answer 10

the umbo, manubrium, and the short process

Question 11

What is the Pars Flaccida?

Answer 11

the small slack superior section of the tympanic membrane

Question 12

What is Paars Tensa

Answer 12

Part of drum which is thicker and more taut

Question 13

What does the binaural interaction at the level of the brainstem permits?

Answer 13

Identification and location of the direction of the sound

Question 14

What does the first episode of Otitis Media that occurs within three months increase

Answer 14

It increase the risk of recurrent OM- three episodes in the past three months or four episondes in the past year

Question 15

What does the labyrinth maintain

Answer 15

The body’s equilibrium

Question 16

When an otoscope examiniation is performed on an older adult the tympanic membrane may be?

Answer 16

Whiter than that of a younger adult. It may also appear more opaque and dull

Question 17

Why is it more difficult to see the eardrum in a neonate?

Answer 17

The position of the eardrum is more horozontal making it more difficult to see completly and harder to differentiate from the canal wall

Question 18

If the tympanic membrane has whhite dense areas, the examiner suspects?

Answer 18

Scarring from recurrent ear infections

Question 19

What is the annulus?

Answer 19

Outer fibrous rim of the drum

Question 20

What is the middle ear?

Answer 20

A tiny air filled cavity inside the temporal bone, it contains the malleus, incus, and stapes

Question 21

What are the openings of the middle ear?

Answer 21

The outer ear is covered by the tympanic membrane.
The inner ear are the oval windowns at the end of the stapes and round window.
Eustachian tube which connects the middles ear with nasopharynx and allows passage of air

Question 22

What are the three functions of the the middles ear

Answer 22

conducts sound vibration from outer ear to central hearing apparatus in the inner ear.
Protects the inner ear by reducing the amplitude of loud sounds
eustachian tube allows equalization of air pressure on each side of tympanic membrane

Question 23

What does the inner ear contain?

Answer 23

It contains the bony labyrinth- which holds the sensory organs for equilibrium and hearing

Question 24

What are the functions of hearing?

Answer 24

It involves the auditory systme at three levels; the peripheral, brainstem, and cerebral cortex

Question 25

the peripheral level

Answer 25

Ear transmit sound and converts its vibration into electrical impulses; which can be analyzed by the brain

Question 26

Brains stem level

Answer 26

Is the binaural interaction -which permit locating the directio of a sound in space as well as identifying the sound

Question 27

Where does cranial nerve viii sends signals to

Answer 27

From each ear to both sides of the brainstem

Question 28

What are the pathways of hearing

Answer 28

Normal pathway of hearing is air conduction which is the most efficient, and an alternate route of hearing is by bone conduction- bones skull vibrate

Question 29

What is conductive hearing loss

Answer 29

Involves a mechanical dysfuntion of the external or middle ear, may be caused by impacted cerumen, foreign bodies, a perforated tympanic membrane, pus or serum in the middle ear

Question 30

What is sensorineural loss

Answer 30

signifies pathology of inner ear, cranial nerve viii or the auditory areas of the cerebral cortex

Question 31

Sensorineural loss may be caused by

Answer 31

prebycusis a gradual nerve degeneration that occurs with aging and by ototoxic drugs

Question 32

what is a mixed loss

Answer 32

combination of conductive and sensorineural types in the same ear

Question 33

Equilibrium

Answer 33

the labyrinth in the inner ear constantly feeds information to your brain about your body's position, if the labyrinth becomes inflammed vertigo occurs

Question 34

Infants eustachian tube

Answer 34

Is relatively shorter and wider and its position is more horozontal than that of the adults, so its easier for pathogens from naspharynx to migrate through to middle ear

Question 35

Ostosclerosis in adults

Answer 35

common cause of conductive hearing loss in young adults btw the ages of 20-40 a gradual hardening that cause the footplate of the stapes to become fixed in the oval window

Question 36

Darwins tuberacle

Answer 36

A small painless nodule at the helix

Question 37

What is microtia

Answer 37

ears smaller than 4 cm vertically

Question 38

what is macrotia

Answer 38

ears larger than 10 centimeters vertically

Question 39

Inspection with the otoscope

Answer 39

Pull the pinna up and and back on and adult or older child; pull the pinna down on infant and child younger than 3

Question 40

Cone shaped light reflex

Answer 40

Is prominent in the anteriornferior quadrant at the five olclock position in the right drum; and the seven oclock position in the left drum

Question 41

Pathway of hearing

Answer 41

AC is usually greater that BC air conduction bone conduction