hearing assesments

Question 1

define conductive hearing loss and its perception

Answer 1

outer and middle ear disease

• sounds muffled, dull
• may have tinnitus

Question 2

define sensorineural hearing loss and its perception

Answer 2

inner ear disease

• poor discrimination of frequency/speech
• distortion
• loudness imbalance
• different frequencies missing
• tinnitus

Question 3

what are the 3 assessments of hearing

Answer 3

1. behavioural
2. physiological
3. functional imaging

Question 4

describe the behavioural tests

Answer 4

audiometry
- pure tone air and bone conduction

Needs to be done is a sound proof room using headphones and bone vibrators. Bone vibrators only test the inner ear so are useful for distinguishing between middle and inner ear issues and hence conduction or sensorineural hearing loss.

speech audiometry: assesses comprehension and detection of speech e.g. (threshold, background noise etc)

Question 5

difference between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss - simple

Answer 5

conductive hearing loss is just like turning down the volume, less energy getting through

sensorineural loss can be affecting sensory cells or nerve fibres therefore coding is different

Question 6

central deafness, auditory process

Answer 6

can detect sound just not utilise it

disorders due to abnormal central processing -> auditory nerve

Question 7

physiological test of middle ear function

Answer 7

tympanometry (pressure applied):

• assesses mobility of ear drum
  
  • assesses middle ear pressure
  • assesses integrity of middle ear muscles and related neural pathways

Question 8

when you would use physiological assessment of hearing

Answer 8

• helpful in people where no behavioural measure (e.g. babies cant talk)
• neural activity of cochlea and auditory brain centres

Question 9

interventions for congenital hearing loss

Answer 9

• hearing instruments/aids
• cochlear implants
• sign language

Question 10

describe tympanometry

Answer 10

is a graphic picture of middle ear function that results as the pressure is varied against the TM

record of resistance of conductive mechanism of ear against pressure changes of the external canal