Physiology and Clinical Aspects of Hearing and Balance

Question 1

What is the ratio of tympanic membrane to stapes footplate?

Answer 1

17:1

Question 2

How does the middle ear act as a sound amplifier?

Answer 2

The area effect of tympanic membrane ratio to stapes footplate
Lever action of ossicular chain

Question 3

What is the ratio of pressure of stapes footplate to pressure on malleus?

Answer 3

1.3:1

Question 4

What is needed in the middle ear for it to work effectively?

Answer 4

Air

Question 5

What is otitis media with effusion?

Answer 5

Fluid in the middle ear and the tympanic membrane cannot work as effectively, hitting the cochlea

Question 6

Function of the incus

Answer 6

Transmits vibrations between malleus and stapes

Question 7

Can the stapes be effected by osteosclerosis?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

Function of the outer hairs of the organ of corti

Answer 8

Fine tuners

Question 9

Function of the inner hairs of organ of corti

Answer 9

Transmitting messages

Question 10

How is hearing assessed?

Answer 10

Clinical testing
Tuning fork tests
Audiometry
Objective testing

Question 11

What are the two tuning fork tests?

Answer 11

Rinne

Webers

Question 12

What is webers test checking?

Answer 12

A test of lateralisation

Question 13

What is rinnes test looking at?

Answer 13

Compares loudness of perceived air conduction to bone conduction in one ear at a time

Question 14

Types of audiometry

Answer 14

Pure tone
Visual reinforcement
Play
Tympanometry

Question 15

What is pure tone audiometry?

Answer 15

Pure tone air conduction hearing test determines the faintest tones a person can hear at selected frequencies from low to high.

Question 16

On an audiogram, what would noise induced loss look like?

Answer 16

High frequency hearing loss

Question 17

Definition of presbyacusis

Answer 17

Hearing loss due to old age

Question 18

On an audiogram, what would presbyacusis look like?

Answer 18

Low and high frequency hearing loss

High worse

Question 19

On an audiogram, what would conductive loss show?

Answer 19

Air / bone gap

Question 20

What can tympanometry detect?

Answer 20

Fluid in the middle ear
Perforation of eardrum
Wax blocking the ear canal

Question 21

How does tympanometry work?

Answer 21

Pushes air pressure into the ear canal, making the eardrum move back and forth

Question 22

What does tympanometry measure?

Answer 22

The mobility of the eardrum

Question 23

What is a graph after tympanometry called?

Answer 23

Tympanograms

Question 24

Definition of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs)

Answer 24

Sounds given off by inner ear when the cochlea is stimulated by sound

Question 25

How does OAEs work? Can this be measured?

Answer 25

When sound stimulates cochlea, outer hair cells vibrate The vibration produces an almost inaudible sound that echoes back to the middle ear. Yes, can be measured with a small probe in the ear canal

Question 26

Those with how much hearing loss do NOT produce these very soft emissions?

Answer 26

Hearing loss greater than 25-30 decibels (Dd)

Question 27

What does the auditory brainstem response (ABR) give information about?

Answer 27

Inner ear (cochlea) and brain pathways for hearing

Question 28

Another name for ABR

Answer 28

Auditory evoked potential (AEP)

Question 29

How is the ABR done?

Answer 29

Electrodes on head | Recording brain wave activity in response to sound

Question 30

Management of hearing loss

Answer 30

Sound amplification Surgery - outer / middle Direct stimulus of cochlear nerve cells for profoundly deaf

Question 31

Who would have a bone anchored hearing aid?

Answer 31

No ear | Susceptible to infection

Question 32

What makes up the vestibule?

Answer 32

Utricle Saccule Semi circular canals

Question 33

If one canal is stimulated, what happens to the other in the pair?

Answer 33

It becomes inhibited

Question 34

What has an open connection with the semi circular canals?

Answer 34

Utricle

Question 35

What are some clinical conditions of the inner ear that affect balance?

Answer 35

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo Vestibular neuritis Meniere's disease

Question 36

Definition of tinnitus

Answer 36

Perception of sound within the ear where there is no external stimuli

Question 37

Explain a negative rhinnes test

Answer 37

Bone conduction > air conduction