Week 4 Auditory Objective 1

Question 1

Conduction pathway sequence

Answer 1

tympanic membrane 
malleus 
incus 
stapes 
oval window

Question 2

Impedance Matching

Answer 2

tympanic membrane is 17 times the size of the stapes, increasing force from the ossicular lever system by 22x

Question 3

Attenuation of sound:Tensor tympani muscle and stapedius muscle reaction

Answer 3

Tensor pulls handle of malleus inward, stapedius pulls handle outward, causing ossicles to become rigid and dampen sound

reduces low frequency sound

they function to decrease a persons hearing sensitivity to their own voice, activated by collateral nerve signals

Question 4

Attenuation reflex

Answer 4

reduces intensity of low frequency sound transmission by 30-40 decibels

about the difference between a loud sound and a whisper

Question 5

function of the attenuation system

Answer 5

a. protect the cochlea from damaging vibrations caused by excessive loud sound
b. masks low-frequency sound in loud environments: removes major share of background noise, permits a person to concentrate on sounds above 1000 cycles/sec, i.e. voice communication