Otology Flashcards
The malleus contacts the tympanic membrane at a structure called the __________.
umbo
What percent of Americans age 20-69 have hearing loss?
16% (8.5% of those age 20 - 29!)
What is the incidence of congenital hearing deficits?
2/1,000
Almost ________ of adults older than 75 have hearing loss.
half
Hearing issues were ranked second only to ___________ as the most debilitating condition in the elderly.
arthritis
What are the effects of hearing loss?
Increased risk of depression, anxiety, paranoia, and poor social relationships
Lower personal and financial success
Risk of being perceived as having a cognitive disorder (by medical professions and others)
There are three types of hearing loss (although commonly people break them into two categories). What are they?
Conductance (outer/middle ear)
Cochlear (inner ear)
Neural (vestibular nerve Schwannomas; neuromas)
What is the classic sign of conductive hearing loss?
Hearing through bone is better than hearing through air.
After perforation, the ___________ can regenerate.
tympanic membrane
What is cholesteatoma?
A skin cyst that behaves in a tumor-like way;
What is the basis of infant hearing tests?
Otologists place a tiny microphone in the ear and play a tone. Because of the amplification of the sound by outer hair cells, there will be a small oto-emission.
What is presbycusis?
A gradual, progressive, bilateral hearing loss caused by age-associated changes; leads to decreased ability to understand normal sounds and decreased toleration of louder sounds.
Wearing hearing aids has been shown to decrease the likelihood of developing _____________.
dementia
Most congenital hearing loss is associated with ___________.
non-syndromic deafness
A mother has a child that is deaf. She has no family history of deafness, but she recalls getting sick during her pregnancy. What agent most likely caused the deafness?
Cytomegalovirus
Describe the edges of the external ear canal (specifically, what is beneath the skin as you move from superficial to deep).
The superficial section of the external ear canal has cartilage beneath its surface. About halfway through the canal, however, there ceases to be cartilage and bone is deep to the skin.
The Eustachian tube provides what functions to the middle ear?
Ventilation and mucociliary clearance
What is the hearing test called?
Audiometric testing
What is “hearing level in dB” (the Y axis of the audiometric test)?
The sound of the noise, given in micropascals, divided by 20 micropascals (which is the absolute lower limit of human hearing)
In an audiometric test, word recognition tells you what?
Whether the patient has neural hearing loss; if people recognize tone but not words, then a CN VIII issue should be ruled out.
True or false: most forms of non-syndromic, prelingual hearing loss are autosomal dominant.
False. Most are autosomal recessive (due to connexin 26 defect)
Describe Meniere’s disease.
A disorder in which the endolymph area is abnormally expanded; results in sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and sense of aural fullness
What are the audiometric tests that indicate sensorineural hearing loss?
Unilateral loss of tone and speech recognition
