Readings Flashcards
Impedance is understood as the resistance of an…
Alternating current circuit
Acoustic impedance is ____ dependent
Frequency
What is the Schuster Bridge?
Was able to assess the characteristics of the drum and middle ear, valuable for the distinction between conductive and perceptive deafness
What experiments did Otto Metz work on?
Temporal bone experiments
What did Metz discover that intrigued him?
The level of middle ear reflex muscles
What did Metz find about middle ear reflex’s? What was this due to?
He found nearly the same thresholds in normal hearing persons and even in most patients with rather pronounced perceptive hearing loss. This was due to recruitment.
What test did Metz establish? What was it based on? What was the advantage?
The Metz recruitment test (based on conductive system of the ear, not sensorineural)
The advantage of being objective
What did Otto Jepsen find out about the stapedius muscle vs. the tensor tympani?
The stapedius muscle is more important (facial paralysis and impedance)
Metz had the same findings on air pressure affect impedance as ____
Bekesy
Who discovered tympanometry?
K. A. Thomsen
What did Thomsen discover?
the possibility of determining ME pressure by impedance measuring
What was the problem with tympanometry back then?
It could not be made airtight
What invention allowed for airtight tympanometry?
The electro-acoustic bridge
Who designed the electro-acoustic measuring bridge?
Knud Terkildsen
What did the electro-acoustic bridge allow for?
The use of impedance audiometry
What is one of the most frequently performed and important components of the basic audiological evaluation?
Tympanometry
What does tympanometry measure?
How the ME system responds to sound energy and how it reacts dynamically to changes in atmospheric pressure
What would happen if humans didnt have a ME?
Humans would only be able to hear very loud sounds via bone conduction
What is the main role of the ME?
To act as an impedance matching system. The ME allows sounds to be transmitted more effectively through the ossicles and by concentrating sound pressure.
Are all sounds transmitted equally by the ME?
No. LF sounds below 1000Hz and HF above 4000Hz are transmitted less efficiently.
The ME transmits the most energy to the cochlea in the frequency range of ____. why?
1000-4000Hz. This is where the majority of speech cues are carried.
Tymapnometry is an ____, ____ measure of acoustic admittance of the ME as a function of air pressure in a sealed ear canal.
objective, physiological
Where do our ears operate most efficently?
atmospheric or ambient pressure
What do increases or decreases in air pressure cause?
The TM and ossicular chain stiffen, changing the admittance of sound energy to the ME.
What are the tympanogram types (picture)?
What does the tympanogram peak (static admittance) tell us?
the amount of energy that flows into the ME system
What will you hear when during a tympanogram?
You will hear decrease in sound intensity as the pressure is increased or decreased, and you should hear an increase in sound intensity at the peak of the tympanogram where admittance is greatest
A normal tympanogram has a single clearly defined peak occurring near ____
Atmospheric pressure
Problems in the middle ear cause alternations in the shape of the ____
tympanogram
What is the most common problem that affects tympanometry? What does this result in?
Fluid in the ME space (OME). This results in an increase in impedance (decreased admittance), which flattens the tymp (type b)
What causes a type C tympanogram?
ET dysfunction (negative pressure)
What can cause positive pressure?
Acute OM (AOM), which happens rarely
What type of tympanogram will result from a thinned TM?
Type Ad (ossicular discontinuity)
What type of tympanogram will result from a stiff TM?
Type As (scaring, otosclerosis)
Who invented tympanometry?
Terkildsen and Scott-Nielson
What probe tone was first chosen for tympanometry (Terkildsen & Thomsen)? why?
220Hz
Random, but also to avoid HF microphone artifacts, lower electrical line noise, and calibration ease
Explain the MFC tympanometer
- multifrequency multicomponent tympanometer
- susceptance (B); mass and spring components of admittance
- conductance (G); friction component of admittance
What frequencys do MFC tymps test?
220Hz, 678Hz, 1000Hz