Hearing & Hearing Disorders

perception

Hearing is the _________ of sound

vibrations

Sound begins as ________ in the air

1. A sound source creates a set of vibrations in surrounding air particles

2. The vibration of air particles create sound waves

How a sound is produced

Frequency

How fast the air particles move back and forth 

Intensity

How far the air particles move back and forth

1. Ears receive the sound waves and converts them into neural impulses

2. The brain (temporal lobe) processes the sound impulses - differentiates between speech and nonspeech sounds

How do the ears hear sound

Pitch, loudness

Frequency and intensity are perceived as _____ and ______

Outer, middle, inner

The ear is made up of three sections

Auricle, external auditory canal (EAC), tympanic membrane

The outer ear is made up of the…

Auricle

AKA the pinna, visible part of the outer ear

External auditory canal (EAC)

Conducts sound waves inward, produces cerumen (ear wax) to protect the inner ear

Tympanic membrane

AKA the eardrum, boundary between the outer and middle ear

Tympanic membrane, Eustachian tube, and ossicles.

The middle ear is made up of the…

Eustachian tube

Runs from the middle ear to the pharynx, serves as a pressure equalizing tube for the middle ears

ossicles

The three smallest bones in the body

Malleus, incus, stapes

The three ossicles in the ear

1. Vestibule

2. Semicircular canals 

3. Cochlea

Three major cavities of the inner ear

Cochlea

The organ of hearing, snail-shaped, fluid-filled, contains sensory hair cells, and converts energy into a code that can be interpreted by the brain

neural

The cochlea converts mechanical energy into ______ energy

High frequency sounds stimulate the base

Low frequency sounds stimulate the tip

What does “tonotopically organized” means?

middle ear

A man experiences a head injury which dislocates his ossicles and results in a hearing loss. In which part of the auditory system did the damage occur?

Conductive hearing loss

A man experiences a head injury which dislocates his ossicles and results in a hearing loss. What type of hearing loss results?