Audiology Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards related to audiology and hearing science.

Sound Wave

A vibration that travels through air and can be heard.

Pure Tone

A sound with only one frequency (like a tuning fork).

Complex Sound Wave

A sound composed of multiple frequencies (like speech or music).

Frequency

Measured in Hertz (Hz) and perceived as the pitch of a sound.

Intensity

Measured in decibels (dB) and perceived as the loudness of a sound.

Pure Tone Audiometry

A hearing test using different tones to find the softest sound someone can hear at different pitches.

Audiologic Habilitation

The process of helping children born with hearing loss to develop speech and language skills.

Cochlear Implants

Devices that send sound directly to the auditory nerve. For people with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss who don’t benefit from hearing aids.

Audiologic Evaluation

A full hearing checkup including case history, otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and tympanometry or ABR if needed.

FM System

A wireless device that sends the speaker’s voice directly to the listener’s hearing aid to assist in noisy environments.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by a problem in the outer or middle ear.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by a problem in the inner ear or auditory nerve.

Mixed Hearing Loss

A combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.

Air-Bone Gap

The difference between air and bone conduction thresholds on a hearing test, indicating conductive or mixed hearing loss.

Tympanometry

A test that checks how the eardrum moves and if there is fluid in the middle ear.

0 dB HL

The level on an audiogram indicating average normal hearing; it is not silence.

Tinnitus

Ringing in the ears.

Profound Hearing Loss

Hearing loss worse than 91 dB HL.

Speech Discrimination

How well a person can understand speech. In sensorineural loss, even loud speech can sound unclear.

Eardrum

Also called the tympanic membrane; it connects to the ossicles (middle ear bones).

Cochlea

The inner ear structure filled with fluid and hair cells for hearing.

Ossicles

Malleus, Incus, and Stapes.

Sensory Organ for Hearing

The cochlea in the inner ear; it has hair cells that change sound into electrical signals.