EDAU 113 Exam 3

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Based on study guide provided by the professor and questions from Assignment 2

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71 Terms

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Psychoacoustics

the study of sound perception; what our brains do with sound

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Hearing

biological/physiological process occurring through the auditory pathway; passive process that does not require attention

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Listening

paying attention and comprehending sounds; an active and conscious process

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Measurable levels of perception (auditory perception tasks)

detection, discrimination, and identification

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Detection

presence vs absence of stimuli; pure tone audiometry

ex: raise your hand when you hear the “beep”

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Discrimination

the noticeable difference between sounds (such as frequency/pitch, intensity/loudness)

ex: can one hear the difference between 10 db SPL and 11 db SPL?

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Identification

how many or which sounds are recognizable; word recognition testing during a hearing test

ex: say the word car, say the word please

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Range of frequencies audible by humans

20 - 20,000 Hz (by frequency/pitch)

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Minimum audibility curve

normal hearing sensitivity

<p>normal hearing sensitivity </p>
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Which frequencies are our ears most sensitive to?

500-4,000 Hz - this is where most speech information occurs

<p> 500-4,000 Hz - this is where most speech information occurs</p>
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Temporal integration

refers to the effect of signal duration on signal detectability; we can detect signals as short as 10 milliseconds (0.01 sec); pure tones that are less than 0.25 sec will require more amplificaiton to detect

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Do we hear quiet sounds better with one or two ears?

hearing sensitivity is better with two ears than one

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Threshold

the lowest intensity at which a test subject responds to the presence of the test signal 50% of the time; we don’t need to hear something 100% of the time for it to be a threshold; common test signals for audiology assessments: pure tones, narrowband noise, warbled tones, speech

<p>the lowest intensity at which a test subject responds to the presence of the test signal 50% of the time; we don’t need to hear something 100% of the time for it to be a threshold; common test signals for audiology assessments: pure tones, narrowband noise, warbled tones, speech </p>
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Presbycusis

age-related hearing loss; decreases in high-frequency hearing sensitivity (2000-8000 Hz) with age

<p>age-related hearing loss; decreases in high-frequency hearing sensitivity (2000-8000 Hz) with age </p>
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Audiogram

graph or table that shows the thresholds in hearing levels at different frequencies, uses db HL (hearing level), each threshold db SPL value corresponds to a hearing level of 0 db HL; shaded area is where most speech sounds occur

<p>graph or table that shows the thresholds in hearing levels at different frequencies, uses db HL (hearing level), each threshold db SPL value corresponds to a hearing level of 0 db HL; shaded area is where most speech sounds occur</p>
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Type (character of hearing loss)

sensorineural (inner ear problem), conductive (external or middle ear problem), mixed (both external or middle and inner ear problem)

ex: hearing loss could be caused by nerve damage, cochlear damage, fluid behind the ear, etc.

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degree (character of hearing loss)

severity of the hearing loss (mild, moderate, severe, etc.)

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configuration (character of hearing loss)

pattern or trend

ex: flat, rising, sloping, cookie bite, peak

<p>pattern or trend</p><p>ex: flat, rising, sloping, cookie bite, peak</p>
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Hearing pathways

done either by air conduction or bone conduction; both pathways are tested in clinical audiometry

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Air conduction

traditional means of audition, where the medium is air

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Bone conduction

cochlear stimulation by setting the bones of the skull into vibration; it bypasses the conductive mechanism (outer and middle ear) and directly stimulated sensory structures (inner ear)

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3 bone conduction mechanism

inertial, compressional, and osseotmpanic

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Action potential

firing of the nerves and sending information up the auditory pathway and up to the brain; produced by neurons that communicate with hair cells in the cochlea

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Tuning curve

hearing test for each individual nerve fiber; each curve represents a different neuron being tested

<p>hearing test for each individual nerve fiber; each curve represents a different neuron being tested </p>
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Characteristic frequency

the frequency that a particular neuron is most sensitive to

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Relationship between neural firing and stimulus intensity

the firing rate of an auditory neuron increases as the stimulus intensity increases within its dynamic range, and eventually plateaus

<p>the firing rate of an auditory neuron increases as the stimulus intensity increases within its dynamic range, and eventually plateaus </p>
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Place coding

high-frequency sounds produce firing from neurons at the base of the cochlea, low-frequency sounds produce firing at the apex

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Temporal coding

the precise timing of neural events (such as action potentials) and when neurons fire at a rate period that mimics the stimulus (also known as phase locking)

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Phase locking

Neurons produce action potentials in a way that mimics the stimulus–more specifically, APs may occur at a period that matches the period of the stimulus frequency (lower frequency will have a longer period)

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Afferent auditory pathway

A bundle of about 30,000 neural fibers are twisted together like a rope, and they transmit information from the hair cells of the cochlea towards the brain stem

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Efferent auditory pathway

there is a smaller set of about 500 neural fibers sending information from the brain stem towards the cochlear hair cells; these descending neurons are called the olivocochlear pathway

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Binaural hearing vs monaural hearing

monaural hearing - refers to hearing and processing sound with one ear

binaural hearing - hearing and processing sounds with both ears

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Diotic

simultaneous presentation of the same sound to the left and right ears

<p>simultaneous presentation of the same sound to the left and right ears</p>
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Dichotic

simultaneous presentation of a stimulus to one ear and a different stimulus to the opposite ear

<p>simultaneous presentation of a stimulus to one ear and a different stimulus to the opposite ear </p>
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Binaural fusion

refers to when our two ears combine information and form one coherent message

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Binaural beats

Perceptual phenomenon, when two slightly different pure tone frequencies are presented (one to each ear) at the same time and intensity, creating an auditory illusion of a third tone pulsing on and off (example of how our ears work together)

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Binaural summation

our threshold of hearing being about 3 dB better when listening with both ears compared to just one ear, the central auditory system receives redundant information across the two ears, which contributes to increased perception of loudness; we have improved sensitivity to frequency and intensity (with two ears vs. one)

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Duplex theory (localization theory)

the CANS uses timing differences and level/intensity differences between the two ears to determine which direction a sound is coming from

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Interaural timing differences

sound will reach the ear closest to the stimulus; timing/phase cue

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Interaural level differences

sound will be louder at the ear closest to the stimulus; amplitude cue (the other ear will experience less intensity due to head shadow)

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Head shadow effect

the head attenuates/reduces intensity of sound

<p>the head attenuates/reduces intensity of sound </p>
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Spiral ganglion

bundle of ascending neurons, helps transmit info from hair cells of cochlea towards the brain stem

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Olivocochlear pathway

descending neurons, sending info from brain stem to cochlear hair cells

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What percentage of afferent nerve fibers synapse with inner hair cells vs outer hair cells?

95% of fibers go to inner hair cells, remaining 5% go to outer hair cells; each IHC will connect exclusively with ~20 nerve fibers, ~10 OHCs will connect to a single nerve fiber

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What are the four lobes of the brain?

Parietal, occipital, temporal, frontal

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What structures make up the brainstem?

medulla, pons, midbrain (between pons and thalamus)

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Superior olivary complex (SOC)

most peripheral structure receiving input from each cochlea, controls activity of both middle ear muscles (tensor tympani and stapedius) through efferent activity

<p>most peripheral structure receiving input from each cochlea, controls activity of both middle ear muscles (tensor tympani and stapedius) through efferent activity</p>
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Inferior colliculus

midbrain structure receiving much information from SOC; info from lower levels is synthesized and combined with other senses (e.g., visual, vestibular, and somatosensory) to form localization response

<p>midbrain structure receiving much information from SOC; info from lower levels is synthesized and combined with other senses (e.g., visual, vestibular, and somatosensory) to form localization response </p>
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Tonotopic organization

place coding, different frequencies are coded at different places along the basilar membrane; high frequency sounds produce firing from neurons at the base of the cochlea, low-frequency sounds produce firing at the apex

<p>place coding, different frequencies are coded at different places along the basilar membrane; high frequency sounds produce firing from neurons at the base of the cochlea, low-frequency sounds produce firing at the apex</p>
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McGurk effect

perceptual phenomenon that demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception

ex: hearing “ba” but seeing “fa” due to the illusion

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Volley theory

A group of neuron fibers may code for frequency from using their pooled response, working together helps reproduce the signal

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Masking

when one sound (the signal) can no longer be heard because of interference from another sound (the masker, aka the noise)

ex: “I didn’t hear you because the water was running”

<p>when one sound (the signal) can no longer be heard because of interference from another sound (the masker, aka the noise)</p><p>ex: “I didn’t hear you because the water was running”</p>
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Threshold shift

Masking is a process in which the threshold of one sound (signal) is raised due to the presentation of another sound (masker)

<p>Masking is a process in which the threshold of one sound (signal) is raised due to the presentation of another sound (masker)</p>
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Effective masking/kneepoint

0-dB effective masking, refers to the lowest level of competing noise that causes a signal to be inaudible

<p>0-dB effective masking, refers to the lowest level of competing noise that causes a signal to be inaudible</p>
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Upward spread of masking

Low-frequency sounds are good at masking high-frequency sounds, may be due to the shape of the wave envelope on the basilar membrane

<p>Low-frequency sounds are good at masking high-frequency sounds, may be due to the shape of the wave envelope on the basilar membrane </p>
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Critical band

Concept that refers to which frequencies are most efficient at masking the signal

<p>Concept that refers to which frequencies are most efficient at masking the signal</p>
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Forward masking

when the masker ends before the signal begins, making the masking of the signal occur forward in time

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Backward masking

when the masker begins after the signal ends, making the masking of the signal occur forward in time

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Energetic masker

white/static noise, no meaning to it

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Informational masker

speech information

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Equal loudness contour

lines on the phon scale visually representing each phon level, at any point along any of the curves, the perceived loudness would be the same

<p>lines on the phon scale visually representing each phon level, at any point along any of the curves, the perceived loudness would be the same </p>
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Phon

used to tell us an order of magnitude–which sound is louder than another but it does not quantify the difference (ordinal scale)

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Timbre

quality of a tone determined by the whole spectrum that provides the richness or body of a sound, difference in harmonics

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Cochlear amplifier

function of the cochlea where low-level sounds are enhanced by the outer hair cells, damage to OHCs reduces our ability to hear quiet sounds, which usually develops from ototoxicity (noise exposure, aging)

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Loudness recruitment

occurs with damage to the OHCs in the cochlea; refers to an abnormal growth of loudness, reduced dynamic range

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Frequency selectivity

ability to hear out (i.e., resolve) small differences in frequency of the auditory system

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What is “SPL” an acronym for? Does an individual with normal hearing sensitivity require greater dB SPL to detect 125 Hz or 2,000 Hz?

SPL = sound level pressure

A person with normal hearing would need a greater dB SPL for 125 Hz

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Why does the audiogram use dB HL instead of dB SPL?

It was designed for clinical use to explain things clearly to patients by having nicer numbers to work with; it is a scale that normalizes the hearing threshold and measures how much an individual’s hearing deviates from normal hearing level

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What type of hearing loss is characterized by normal bone conduction thresholds and abnormal air conduction thresholds?

Conductive hearing loss, possibly due to a problem in the middle ear such as liquid behind the ear drum

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Describe what happens to the firing rate of a neuron once it has reached a point of saturation

the firing rate will eventually plateau, even if the stimulus intensity increases

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Describe how a wide range of stimulus intensities is coded by neurons with different spontaneous firing rates.

See image!

<p>See image! </p>