Module 10: Special Senses Flashcards
• Form of mechanical energy
• Waves of particle displacement
*Longitudinal vibrations of molecules in alternating phases of compression and rarefaction
• Produced by pressure changes (sound pressure) which is picked up by the ear and translated into audible sound
Sound
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND:
- Frequency
- Intensity
- Phase
• Determines pitch
• Expressed in Hertz (Hz)
- Number of cycles per second
Frequency
Audible range, Greatest sensitivity and Speech
Audible range: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Greatest sensitivity: 1000 – 4000 Hz
Speech: 300 – 3500 Hz
• frequency at which a mass vibrates with the least amount of external force
Resonant frequency
- Determines loudness
- Expressed in decibels (dB)
- Decidbel: unit of sound
- expressed in terms of the logarithm of their intensity
- a 10 fold increase in energy is 1 bel
- 0.1 bel is a decibel
- 1 decibel is an increase in sound energy of 1.26 times
Intensity
• Prolonged exposure to how many db SPL can cause deafness?
more than 80 dB SPL
Sound and dB SPL
- Jet plane, Gunshot blast: 140 dB SPL
- Automobile horn: 120
- Motor cycle engine: 100
- Average factory: 80-90
- Noisy restaurant, busy traffic, shouting: 80
- Conversational speech: 65
- Quiet office: 40
- Soft whisper: 30
dB SPL
- approx 140 dB SPL: threshold for pain
- approx 120 dB SPL: damage to cochlear hair cells
- approx 110 dB SPL: threshold for discomfort
- long exposue to >90 dB SPL may harm the hearing
- > 80 dB SPL: “loud sound”
The Tympanic Membrane and the Ossicular System
• Tympanic membrane functions to transmit vibrations in the air to the cochlea
• Amplifies the signal because the area of the tympanic membrane is 17 times larger than the oval window
• Tympanic membrane connected to the ossicles
- malleus
- incus
- stapes
• can be damaged by loud sound (120 dB) or some drugs especially those for treatment of Tuberculosis (Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol)
Tympanic Membrane
• equalizes the pressure between the ear and the atmosphere around us
Eustachian Tube
• two muscles attach to the ossicles
- stapedius
- tensor tympani
• a loud noise initiates reflex contraction after 40 - 80 milliseconds
• attenuates vibration going to cochlea
• serves to protect cochlea and damps low frequency sounds i.e., your own voice
Attenuation of Sound by Muscle Contraction
Attenuation Reflex
• smallest muscle in our body; it contracts if a loud noise is initiated
Stapedius
Sound Conduction to the Cochlea
- Bone conduction - Plays a role only in transmission of extremely loud sound
- Air (ossicular) conduction - Main pathway for normal hearing; most common form of hearing
Amplification of Sound Pressure:
- Sound collection
2. Impedance matching
• Resonator
• Cause minor increase in sound intensity
- By 10 – 20 dB between 2000 – 5500 Hz
- EAC resonant frequency: ~3000 Hz
The External Ear
• Displacement of TM and ossicular chain varies with frequency and intensity
- Most efficient: 500 – 3000 Hz
The Middle Ear
- increase sound pressure from Tympanic Membrane to oval window: 10 – 35 dB (22-fold)
- the louder the sound, the lower the ossicular displacement (the movement of the ossicular bones get lower when the sound is louder.
- Area disparity between the resonating TM and stapes footplate
- Lever action of the ossicular chain
• Requires equal pressure between the atmosphere and the middle ear cavity
- Maintained by the periodic opening of the eustachian tubes
Impedance Matching
- system of three coiled tubes separated by membranes into the scala tympani, scala media, scala vestibuli
- sound waves cause back and forth movement of the tympanic membrane which moves the stapes back and forth
- this causes displacement of fluid in the cochlea and induces vibration in the basilar membrane
Cochlea
- contains about 30,000 fibers which project from the bony center of the cochlea, the modiolus
- fibers are stiff reed-like structures fixed to the modiolus and embedded in the loose basilar membrane
- because they are stiff and free at one end they can vibrate like a musical reed
- the length of the fibers increase and the diameter of the fibers decrease from base to the helicotrema, overall stiffness decreases 100 X, high freq. resonance occurs near base, low near apex
Basement Membrane
Displacement of fluid in the cochlea depends on the frequency
High frequency - will displace fluid at the base
Middle frequency - will displace fluid in the middle
Lower frequency - will displaced fluid towards the end near the helicotrema
2 Types of Fluid inside the Cochlea
- Endolymph - fluid in the middle; near the organ of Corti
* Perilymph - fluid inside the scala vestibuli and scala tympani
- similar to CSF (high sodium, low potassium)
* Voltage: 0 mV
Perilymph