The Auditory Nerve & The Central Auditory Pathway

Question 1

What are stops on the Central Auditory Pathway?

Answer 1

1. Ventral Cochlear Nucleus
2. Superior Olivary Nucleus
3. Lateral Lemniscus
4. Inferior Colliculus
5. Medial Geniculate Body
6. Primary Auditory Cortex

Question 2

What does the CANS pathways provide?

Answer 2

Considerable intrinsic redundancy in processing signal

Question 3

The English language provides us with..

Answer 3

considerable extrinsic redundancy

Question 4

What falls under intrinsic redundancy?

Answer 4

Timing, pitch, and loudness ques

Question 5

What falls under extrinsic redundancy?

Answer 5

Linguistic aspect (words and speech)

Question 6

What can we typically cope with?

Answer 6

Intrinsic OR extrinsic redundancy

Question 7

When does a breakdown occur for redundancy?

Answer 7

When BOTH intrinsic and extrinsic redundances are reduced

Question 8

For disorders of the VIIIth Nerve, which part of the cochlea is experiencing the disorder?

Answer 8

The SNHL - the neural part

Question 9

Do audiometric findings look different for cochlear or retrocochlear SNHL?

Answer 9

No.

Question 10

What are some red flags for retrocochlea SNHL?

Answer 10

1. Unilateral or asymmetrical HL

2. Significantly poorer word recognition scores based on pure-tone thresholds

Question 11

When do you use a site-of-lesion testing?

Answer 11

When you suspect a HL is retrocochlear

Question 12

What is Acoustic Neuroma?

Answer 12

A benign tumor from the Schwann cells of the vestibular portion of the VIIIth nerve

Question 13

What’s another name for Acoustic Neuroma?

Answer 13

Vestibular Schwannoma

Question 14

Is Vestibular Schwannoma slow or fast growing?

Answer 14

Slow

Question 15

What are the symptoms of Vestibular Schwannoma?

Answer 15

1. Decreased hearing
2. Dizziness
3. Poor speech discrimination
4. And may experience tinnitus

Question 16

Is Acoustic Neuroma bilateral or unilateral?

Answer 16

Unilateral

Question 17

When is Vestibular Schwannoma bilateral?

Answer 17

When the patient has a condition called neurofibromatosis

Question 18

What is the treatment for Vestibular Schwannoma and what is considered before determining surgery?

Answer 18

Surgery and symptoms, age, size, and location

Question 19

What occurs after surgery for those with Vestibular Schwannoma?

Answer 19

A complete loss of hearing

Question 20

What is Auditory Neuropathy/Dys-synchrony-?

Answer 20

A patient has a normal cochlear function but there’s an interruption in transmission of signal from cochlea to brainstem which isn’t occurring the way it needs to

Question 21

Auditory Neuropathy/Dys-synchrony- characteristics are?

Answer 21

1. Test results vary from normal - severe hearing loss
2. Test results can fluctuate
3. Typically, significantly worse word recognition score
4. Imaging does not show a lesion

Question 22

Other causes of VIIIth nerve HL?

Answer 22

1. Acoustic Neuritis

2. Multiple Sclerosis

Question 23

What is Auditory Pathway Disorder?

Answer 23

It’s what the brain does with what it hears

Question 24

Those with APD would experience?

Answer 24

1. Difficulty interpreting auditory information (due to absence of peripheral HL)
2. Function as if they have a HL
3. Difficulty in separating sound
4. Difficulties in: Auditory Attention, Auditory Memory, Auditory Figure-Ground

Question 25

What is Minimal Auditory Deficiency Syndrome (MADS)?

Answer 25

Deprivation of sensory input that causes changes in the brain plasticity

Question 26

When is MADS a concern?

Answer 26

If a child has OM for a prolonged period, he/she is going to miss certain speech sounds. The brain will think we don’t need these signals anymore and begins to cure them out. So when the OM clears up, a child still may function like he/she still has a HL