The Physiology of Hearing and Balance Flashcards
describe the pathway of hearing
Ear canal tympanic membrane ossicles Cochlea cochlear nerve auditory cortex
give the two types of hearing loss?
Conductive
Sensorineural
what is conductive hearing loss?
occurs when there is a problem conducting sound waves through outer ear, tympanic membrane, or middle ear
what is sensorineural hearing loss?
root cause lies in sensory organ (cochlea and associated structures) or the neural part (cranial nerve VIII)
what part does the cochlea play in hearing?
Hair cells within the Organ of Corti produce electrical activity (endolymph, perilymph)
This activity becomes a neural impulse and travels to the brain via the cochlear nerve VIII
at what threshold is there no sound?
0 db SPL
at what threshold do you feel pain via sound?
130 db SPL
Conductive losses tend to predominate in which level of frequencies?
low
Sensorineural losses tend to predominate in which level of frequencies?
high
what does an Audiometry test measure?
tests your ability to hear amplitude or intensity of sound and frequency
(subjective)
what does a Tympanometry test measure?
Measure of tympanic membrane compliance involving middle ear and ear canal pressure
(canal pressure should equal middle ear pressure)
what is the Tympanometry test useful for detecting?
Eustachian tube dysfunction
Middle ear effusion (glue-ear)
after what age, will children be unable to speak when born deaf, even if the hearing is restored?
approx age of 4