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APM- Physiology > Physiology of Hearing > Flashcards

Physiology of Hearing Flashcards

1
Q

What are sound waves?

A

They are audible variations in air pressure (compression and rarefaction).

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2
Q

Do air molecules travel directly from the source of sound to your ear?

A

NO they do not
Each individual air molecule only moves a small distance as it vibrates, but it causes the adjacent molecules to vibrate in a rippling effect all the way to the ear.

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3
Q

What does the wavelength and amplitude of a sound wave

A

The pressure of the sound

How much the particles are being moved

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4
Q

Define sound intensity

A

the sound power per unit area (power = amplitude^2).

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5
Q

What are the basic units of sound intensity?

A

watts/m2 or watts/cm2
BUT more in normal life we use
decibels (dB)

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6
Q

What is sound intensity in lay man terms?

A

How loud the sound is

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7
Q

What is the threshold for hearing in dB?

A

= 0 dB

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8
Q

What is the sound intensity of vacuum cleaner?

A

= 80 dB

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9
Q

Define frequency

A

Frequency is the speed of complete back and forth vibration

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10
Q

In what unit so we measure frequency?

A

Hertz

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11
Q

What is the frequency range humans can hear at?

A

20-20,000 Hz

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12
Q

What does 1 Hz equal?

A

1 Hertz = 1 vibration/second

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13
Q

What is the frequency (pitch) of spoken words?

A

2000-4000 Hz

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14
Q

What is the speed of sound?

A

343 m/sec

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15
Q

What is ear split into?

A

3 sections:
Outer ear
Middle ear
Inner ear

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16
Q

What makes up the outer ear?

A

The pinna and the auditory canal

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17
Q

What makes up the middle ear?

A

Ossiclles and the tympanic membrane

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18
Q

What makes up the inner ear?

A

The oval window and cochlea

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19
Q

What are the outer and middle ear full of?

A

Air

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20
Q

What is the inner ear filled of?

A

It is fluid filled

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21
Q

What does the pinna act like?

A

Acts like a funnel to collect sound waves

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22
Q

What does the auditory canal do?

A

focuses the sound waves to increase the pressure on the tympanic membrane in a frequency sensitive manner.

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23
Q

What does the design of the pinna help us to do?

A

Helps us to determine sound localisation.

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24
Q

What is conductive hearing loss?

A

A clinical condition where your outer ear may be damaged

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25
Where does the middle ear stem from and to?
Spans from the tympanic membrane to the oval window on cochlea
26
Describe the middle ear?
It is an air filed cavity
27
Name the 3 smallest bones in the body
1. Malleus (hammer) 2. Incus (anvil) 3. Stapes (stirrup)
28
What is the role of the middle ear?
Converts wave in air to fluid
29
What does the conversion of waves in air to fluid result in?
leads to a reduction in intensity as it is harder to vibrate fluid
30
How do we overcome this loss of intensity when waves are converted into fluids?
Impediance matching | This provides amplification
31
How is Impediance matching achieved?
1. ossicles connections act like levers | 2. reduction in area of oval window compared to the tympanic membrane focuses vibrations.
32
What 2 processes occur in the middle ear cavity?
1. Impediance matching | 2. The attenuation (hearing) reflex
33
What does the attenuation reflex protect us from?
Loud bangs and noises
34
Name the 2 muscles involved in the attenuation reflex
tensor tympani | the stapedius muscle
35
What happens in the attenuation reflex
The tensor tympani pulls the malleus inwards and the stapedius muscle pulls the stapes outwards. These opposite forces cause the ossicular system to increase rigidity and thereby decrease their ability to conduct sound and reduces the size of any vibration.
36
What is the negative of the attenuation reflex?
They is a deli in the response of 40-80 ms
37
What are the 3 things the attenuation reflex is designed to do?
1. Protects the cochlea from loud noises (but because of the delay not things like gunshots). 2. Masks background noise in loud environments. 3. Helps to reduce the sensitivity to your own voice.
38
What connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx?
EUSTACHIAN TUBE
39
What does the eustachian tube do?
Equilibriates the air pressure in the middle ear with atmospheric pressure.
40
What do pressure difference cause in the tympanic membrane?
Pressure differences cause decreases motion of the tympanic membrane causing a reduction in hearing. (this is the pop sound you hear when you're on a plane)
41
What is the cochlea?
It is the auditory component of inner ear
42
What do the 3 semicircular canals in the inner ear do?
They are the balance component of the inner ear
43
Describe the Cochlea?
It is normally coiled up but if it was unrolled it narrows from the base to the apex
44
Naked the membrane that spans through the middle of the cochlea
The basilar membrane
45
Describe the basilar membrane
widens from base to apex
46
What is found above the basilar membrane?
The Scala vestibuli
47
What is found in the Scala vestibuli?
Paralin fluid
48
What causes the movement of fluid over the basilar membrane?
The Stapes bone pushing against the cochlea
49
What is the hole at the apex of the cochlea called?
The helicotrema
50
What happens at the helicotrema?
Fluid is pushed into here init the lower duct (The scala tympani )
51
What is the lower duct of the cochlea called?
The scala tympani
52
What is found in the muddle of the scala vestibuli and the scala tympani?
The scala media
53
Name the fluid found in the scala tympani
Perilymph
54
Describe perilymph fluid?
Has a low potassium ion conc but a high sodium ion conc
55
Name the fluid found in the scala media
Endolymph
56
Describe endolymph fluid
It is high in potassium but low in sodium
57
What does the basilar membrane do?
It differentiates between different sound wave frequencies so that we can hear different things
58
What happens when a high frequency sound wave reaches the basilar membrane?
The sound wave vibrates the stiff base | The sound wave loses energy -The wave does not travel far
59
What happens when a low frequency sound wave reaches the basilar membrane?
The energy does not dissipate so the wave travels further
60
What word is used to describe the Maximum displacement areas for different frequencies Organisation in the basilar membrane
tonotopic
61
What does the position go the wave on the basilar membrane show?
Position on basilar membrane where travelling wave reaches its maximum amplitude is directly related to the frequency of the stimulus
62
What is situated inside the basilar membrane?
The organ of corti
63
What does the organ of corti do?
It has the auditory receptors that | Convert mechanical energy into changes in membrane potential
64
How many inner hair cells do we have?
1
65
How many outer hair cells do we have?
3
66
What does the inner har cell do?
Does the majority of your hair cells about 90% of our nerve fibres come from here The inner hair cell is responsible for recording the auditory signals from the tectorial membrane
67
What is found on top of hair cells?
stero cilia
68
What are stero coil embedded in?
Are embedded in the tectorial membrane
69
What do sound waves do to the basilar membrane?
Causes the basilar membrane to vibrate
70
What does the vibrating of the basilar membrane cause
causes the hair cells to push against the tectorial membrane | causes the hair cells to push against the tectorial membrane
71
What type are gates are present in the hair cells?
Mechanically-gated potassium channels linked by elastic filaments.
72
Describe the process of depolarisation of hair cells
Stereocilia movement opens/closes the Mechanically-gated potassium channels Leads to an influx of Na+ This alters the polarisation of the cell causing voltage-gated calcium channels to open This activates the release of vesicles filled with excitatory neurotransmitter
73
What joins all the hair cells together?
Tip links
74
Describe the ascending auditory pathway
1. Cochlea 2. Chochlea nucleus 3. Superior olive at the contralateral side 4. Inferior colliculus 5. Medial geniculate body 6. Auditory cortex
75
What do we maintain in the primary cortex of th brain?
The tonotopic position that originates on the basilar membrane is maintained all the way up to the auditory cortex.
76
What does the eustachian tube do?
connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx

APM- Physiology (2 decks)

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