Audiology "Mini Exam" Vocabulary

Afferent

Afferent

Carrying impulses from the periphery toward the brain

Alzheimer’s Disease

Condition associated with aging that accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of senile dementias and is associated with a variety of symptoms, notable memory loss

Ampulla

The widened end of each of the three semi-circular

canals where they return to the utricle. Each ampulla contains an end organ for the sense of equilibrium.

Anotia

Absence of the pinna

Atresia

Congenital closure of a normally open body orifice,

such as the external auditory canal.

Auricle

The cartilaginous appendage of the external ear.

Bel

Unit for expressing ratios of sound pressures in base 10

logarithms.

Carhart Notch

Artifact in the bone-conduction audiograms

of patients with otosclerosis that makes it appear as though

their sensorineural sensitivity is slightly poorer than it truly

is. It is most evident at 2,000 Hz and often disappears following corrective surgery.

Cerebellopontine

That area at the base of the brain at the junction of the cerebellum, medulla, and pons.

Cholesteatoma

Tumor, usually occurring in the middle ear and mastoid, that combines fats and epithelium from outside the middle-ear space.

Corti’s Arch

Series of arches made up of the rods of Corti in the cochlear duct.

Dementia

The impairment of cognitive and intellectual functions.

It is usually progressive and age-related, and is usually

characterized by disorientation and impaired memory, judgment, and intellect.

Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus

The smaller of two cochlear nuclei on each side of the brain, it receives fibers from the cochlea on the ipsilateral side.

Down Syndrome

Syndrome characterized by mental retardation;

a small, slightly flattened skull; low-set ears; abnormal

digits; and other unusual facial and body characteristics.

Also known as trisomy 21 syndrome

Efferent

Carrying impulses from the brain toward the periphery.

Endogonous

Produced or originating within the organism.

Hearing Disability

Inability to perform socially useful functions

due to hearing loss. A given disability may or may not

present a handicap.

Hearing Handicap

The ways in which a hearing loss has a frustrating effect on individual roles or goals.

Hearing Impairment

Abnormality of structure or function that is physiological, psychological, or anatomical.

Labyrinthitis

Inflammation of the labyrinth, resulting in hearing loss and vertigo.

Mastoidectomy

Operation to remove infected cells of the

mastoid. Mastoidectomies are termed as simple, radical, and modified radical, depending on the extent of surgery.

Mastoiditis

Infection of the mastoid.

Meniere’s Disease

Disease of the inner ear whose symptoms

include tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss (usually fluctuating and unilateral).

Nystagmus

Oscillatory motion of the eyes.

Organ of Corti

The end organ of hearing found within the

scala media of the cochlea.

Osteomyelitis

Inflammation of bone caused by a purulent infection.

Otitis Media

Any infection in the middle ear

Otorrhea

Any discharge from the external auditory canal or

from the middle ear.

Ototoxic

Poisonous to the ear.

Perilymph

The fluid contained in both the auditory and vestibular

portions of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear.

Permanent threshold shift (PTS)

Permanent sensory/neuralloss of hearing, usually associated with exposure to intense noise.

Presbycusis

Hearing loss associated with old age.

Prevalence

The number of existing cases of a disease or condition

within a population at any given time.

Ratio

The mathematical result of a quantity divided by

another quantity of the same kind, often expressed as a

fraction.

Recruitment

Large increase in the perceived loudness of a signal

produced by relatively small increases in intensity above

threshold; it is symptomatic of some hearing losses produced by damage to the cochlea.

Rh Factor

Pertaining to the protein factor found on the surface

of the red blood cells in most humans. Named for the

Rhesus monkey, in which it was first observed.

Stapedectomy

Operation designed to improve hearing in

cases of otosclerosis by removing the affected stapes and

replacing it with a prosthesis.

Stria Vascularis

Vascular strip that lies along the outer wall

of the scala media. It is responsible for the secretion and

absorption of endolymph, it supplies oxygen and nutrients

to the organ of Corti, and it affects the positive DC potential

of the endolymph.

Vertigo

The sensation that a person (or his or her surroundings)

is whirling or spinning.

Acoustic Neuroma

A tumor involving the nerve sheath of the auditory nerve.

Acoustic Trama Notch

A precipitous increase in hearing loss in 3000 to 6000 Hz range, with recovery of hearing function at higher frequencies. It is usually, but not exclusivley

Bell’s Palsy

Paralysis of the peripheral branch of the facial (VII th cranial) nerve.

Chorda Tympani Nerve

A branch of the facial nerve that passes through the middle ear. It conveys information about taste from the anterior two-thirds of one side of the tongue.

Cochlea

A cavity in the inner ear resembling a snail shell and responsible for converting sound waves into an electrochemical signal that can be sent to the brain for interpretation.

Endolymph

The fluid contained within the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear both the auditory and vestibular portions.

Eustachian Tube

The channel connecting the middle ear with the nasopharynx on each side. It is lined with mucous membrane and is sometimes called the auditory tube

Manubrium

A process of the malleus embedded in the fibrous layer of the tympanic membrane.

Objective Audiometry

Procedures for testing the hearing function that do not require behavioral responses

Otalgia

Pain in the ear.

Pseudohypacusis

Non –organic hearing , fake False and Exaggerated Hearing Loss

Semicircular Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SCDS)

Frequently misdiagnosed as a peripheral vestibular disorder, SCDS symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and disequilibrium are induced by intense sounds or change in middle-ear pressure.

Tympanic Membrane

The thin vibrating membrane between the outer and middle ears, located at the end of the external auditory canal. It compromises an outer layer of skin, a middle layer of connective tissue, and an inner layer of mucous membrane.

Umbo

A sight indentation at the approximate center of the tympanic membrane at the tip of the malleus; the point at which the tympanic membrane is most retracted.