Hearing

Question 0

frequency

Answer 0

the number of pressure changes per cycle (measured in hertz)

Question 1

sound wave

Answer 1

the physical stimulus for audition (created when objects vibrate thus moving air particles)

Question 2

pitch

Answer 2

our perception of frequency (how high or low a note is)

Question 3

amplitude

Answer 3

amount of change in pressure (intensity) (measured in decibels)

Question 4

complexity

Answer 4

the number of different frequencies in a sound (music is very complex)

Question 5

fundamental

Answer 5

lowest frequency, determines the pitch

Question 6

harmonics

Answer 6

higher pitched tones related to the fundamental (we like singers voices because of their harmonics)

Question 7

Fourier analysis of hearing

Answer 7

any complex tone can be represented as a series of simple tones (sine waves)

Question 8

Ohm’s law

Answer 8

our brains do not process phase information for slowly varying sounds, but does respond to changes in amplitude and frequency

Question 9

Resonant frequency

Answer 9

the frequency with which an object vibrates when hit by sound waves (an object will begin to vibrate if a sound wave matching the object’s resonant frequency travels close to the object)

Question 10

pinna

Answer 10

the outer part of the ear/the part we see

Question 11

external auditory canal

Answer 11

the tunnel going down towards the ear drum

Question 12

tympanic membrane

Answer 12

the ear drum, thin layer of skin that vibrates when hit by sound waves

Question 13

the outer ear includes…

Answer 13

the pinna, the external auditory canal, and the tympanic membrane

Question 14

ossicles of the ear

Answer 14

malleus, incus and stapes

Question 15

oval window

Answer 15

where the stapes meets the opening of the cochlea

Question 16

Eustachian tube

Answer 16

from the middle ear down to the throat, serves as a protector, equalizes pressure on both sides of the ear drum (why our ears pop in the mountains)

Question 17

the middle ear includes…

Answer 17

the ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes, the Eustachian tube, the oval window

Question 18

the inner ear includes…

Answer 18

cochlea, hair cells

Question 19

impedance problem

Answer 19

the middle ear is filled with air and the inner ear is filled with fluid, the problem is that the sound has to all of a sudden change media through which it is traveling

Question 20

parts of the cochlea as if looking at it in a circle head on

Answer 20

vestibular canal, reissner’s membrane, middle canal, basilar membrane, tympanic canal

Question 21

hair cells

Answer 21

transducer mechanical movement in the cochlea into neural activity (about 3500)

Question 22

outer hair cells

Answer 22

sharpen info sent by the inner hair cells, amplify sounds, otoacoustic emissions

Question 23

inner hair cells

Answer 23

send information to the bran

Question 24

place theory

Answer 24

patter of movement of the basilar membrane codes the frequency of a sound (where the wave is on the membrane tells what the frequency of a sound is), intensity is coded by the number of hair cells firing, we can’t always see this nice and crisp

Question 25

temporal theory

Answer 25

frequency of a sound is coded by how many times auditory neurons fire (neurons fire 250 times for a 250hz sound)

Question 26

phase locking

Answer 26

firing of a single neuron at one distinct point in the cycle of a sound wave, problem: nerve cells can only fire up to 1000hz

Question 27

volley principle

Answer 27

the solution to the problem with temporal theory, cells work together in groups to code frequency, looks at the total output of a group of cells to determine frequency of a sound

Question 28

tinnitus

Answer 28

continuous sound heard in the ears, yet no sound is actually present (running in the ears, normal hearing people can experience this)

Question 29

exposure to noise

Answer 29

most common cause of hearing loss, hair cells are banging down so much they eventually cannot standup straight anymore therefore they don’t hit the other correctly when supposed to=that cell doesn’t fire

Question 30

auditory adaption

Answer 30

a continuous tone begins to sound quieter over time therefore we feel as if we need to turn it up in order for it to be at an appropriate volume/amplitude/intensity

Question 31

presbycusis

Answer 31

age related hearing loss, most loss is noticed among high frequencies