Basic Audiology

exam 1

110-120 db

What is the loudest sound that we can tolerate?

20 hz up to 20,000 Hz

What is the range of hearing for a human?

125 Hz to 8,000 Hz

what is the range tested in an audiogram

140 dB

what is the threshold of pain/damaging to the ear

110 dB

what is the highest threshold we test to in an audiogram?

The softest sound a young, normal hearing listener can hear at each frequency level

threshold of audibility contour

octaves

successful doubling of frequencies

inter-octave frequencies

frequencies in between octaves

intuitive threshold

the softest level that a given listener can hear a sound

operational threshold

the level of a sound that can be heard by an individual 50 % of the time

clinical threshold

the lowest level at which three responses are first obtained

1. familiarization phase

2. descending phase

3. threshold-search phase

modified hughson-westlake technique

familiarization phase

familiarize patient with stimulus they are listening for

descending phase

once you familiarize then you drop the level by 10 dB

threshold-search phase

once you reach where the patient cant hear the sound anymore start increasing by 5 dB, once they hear the sound drop 10 dB, repeat always increasing by 5 and dropping by 10 until you get three responses at the same location

air conduction

tones are transmitted through the air from a transducer, normally headphones, into the ear canal

bone conduction

tones are transmitted through the bones of the skull to the cochlea. A small bone oscillator is placed on the skull behind the pinna

red

what color are the symbols in the right ear

blue

what color are the symbols in the left ear

right AC (unmasked)

left AC (unmasked)

right AC (masked)

left AC (masked)

right BC (unmasked)

left BC (unmasked)

right BC (masked)

Left BC (masked)

right no response

left no response

slightly to the side of the line

where is bone conduction recorded?

on the left side of the line

where is the right ear recorded?

on the right side of the line

where is the left ear recorded?

solid lines

what are air conduction symbols connected with

dotted lines

what are bone conduction symbols connected with

timing of your response must be consistent to the timing of the stimulus

response must be latency consistent

should not be able to anticipate when you are going to present the stimuli

avoid pattern of presentation

can you get different results based on the headphones you use and the position of the headphones/oscillator

yes

listening checks daily

when should you be putting the headphones on yourself and checking the intensity and sound of the headphones?

no

can bone condition threshold be worse than air condition threshold?

PTA

pure tone average is the threshold average at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz

no

do you test BC at 8,000 Hz

middle ear infection

otitis media

point of the cone of the ear drum

umbo

reflection of the otoscope

cone of light

always facing towards the front of the head

manubrium of malleus

tympanic membrane

ear drum; pearly grey semi-transparent

serous

none infected fluid

suppurative

infectious fluid

tympanosclerosis

scaring of the eardrum

conducive auditory system

outer and middle ear

examples of conductive hearing loss

pina malformation, wax plug/obstruction, ear infections

sensorineural

includes cochlea, auditory nerve, ascending auditory pathway

sensorineural hearing loss

loss of hair cells in the cochlea, loud noises, and age

mixed hearing loss

conductive hearing loss and sensorineural at the same time e.x. some who has dead hair cells and an ear infection

retrocochlear

something beyond the 8th nerve

air-bone gap

1. difference between AC and BC \

2. total conductive hearing loss= air conduction- bone conduction

bilateral

both sides “bilateral hearing loss”

bilateral

in both ears “bilateral hearing test”

unilateral

one side

monaural

one ear

behavioral test e.x. a pure tone test

subjective

neurophysiologic

objective

conductive

1. AC outside of normal

2. BC within normal

3. Air-bone gap

sensorineural

1. AC outside of normal

2. BC outside of normal

3. AC=BC

mixed

1. AC outside of normal

2. BC outside of normal

3. Air-bone gap

degree

normal, mild, moderate…

type

conductive, sensorineural, mixed…

configuration

flat, sloping, notched…

normal

-10dB to 16dB

slight/minimal

16dB to 25dB

mild

26dB to 40dB

moderate

41dB to 55dB

moderately-severe

56dB-70dB

Severe

71dB-90dB

profound

91dB +

flat configuration

sloping configuration

-sensorineural hearing loss

rising configuration

-rising configuration is a conductive hearing loss

notched configuration

• noise induced hearing loss; sensorineural

fragmentary (left corner) configuration

• sensorineural

• most members of the deaf community have an audiogram thats left corner

cookie-bite configuration

• congenital hearing loss

• nothing would happen after birth that would cause this

degree

1. determined by AC only

2. determined at each frequency

type

1. determined by both AC and BC

2. determined at regions of frequencies, meaning it varies by low-high frequencies

configuration

1. determined by AC only

2. determined across frequency

masking

to rule out participation by the non-test ear

crossover

when sound presented to the test ear arrives at the cochlea of the non-test ear

inter-aural attenuation

the drop in intensity of a sound as it crosses over to the non-test ear

40 dB

what is the inter-aural attenuation for air conduction testing

audiogram

a graph that shows the results of a hearing test by plotting the thresholds at different frequencies

40-60 dB

what is the average in dB for speech?

lower

the more hearing loss the ____ on the graph?

0 dBHL

what is the average hearing threshold?

frequency (Hz)

what is on the x-axis of the audiogram?

125-8000 Hz

what is the number range for the x-axis?

intensity (dB)

what is on the y-axis of the audiogram?

-10 to 110 dB

what is the number range for the y-axis?

1. start at 1000

2. then go up (2,000, 4,000, 8,000)

3. retest 1,000

4. then go down (500, 250)

what is the order you should test frequencies?

blue

what color corresponds to the left ear?

red

What color corresponds to the right ear?

annually

how often is an exhaustive calibration done?