Assessment Of Adult Hearing

Question 1

What is cross hearing

Answer 1

-sound presented by headphones can cross from on ear to the opposite ear. This happens through the skull

Question 2

What is pure tone audiometry test

Answer 2

Behavioural test used to measure the threshold of hearing to pure tones of different frequencies
Each ear is tested separately
This test is standardised

Question 3

What is a otoscopy

Answer 3

Looking down ears

Question 4

What is sound

Answer 4

-the vibration of air molecules
-objective measurement of sound tells us the pressure
-

Question 5

What is the measument of pressure

Answer 5

Newtons/ m2 = pascal

Question 6

What is the range of human hearing

Answer 6

20 micro pascals to 200 pascals
Use a logarithmic scale to keep it manageable
Therefore the scale is decibel (db)

Question 7

What is the dB HL scale

Answer 7

-audiometry uses dB HL ‘hearing level’
-normalises average threshold values across the frequency range
-found by testing normal hearing adults
-0=threshold

Question 8

What is the threshod in pure tone audiology

Answer 8

The lowest level of sound the subject can hear 2/2 or 3/4 responses on ascending level

Question 9

What are the 3 times of hearing loss

Answer 9

-SNHL sensory neural hearing loss
-conductive hearing loss
-mixed

Question 10

What is SNHL

Answer 10

Sensory neural hearing loss
-problem with cochlear, cochlear nerve, brain related to hearing, auditory nerve or tumour

Question 11

Conductive hearing loss (airbone gap)

Answer 11

-problem with outer or middle ear
-lower levels of sounds will get into the ear
-perhaps hole in membrane or there is a bony growth
-=stopping sounds getting into cochlear

Question 12

What is air conduction test

Answer 12

-headphone placed over pinna
-presents sound to the membrane and into the cochlear
-tests the full auditory pathway

Question 13

What is bone conduction test

Answer 13

-goes behind the back of the persons ear on the auditory meatus
-vibrates the skull
-bipases the outer and middle ear
-sound goes straight to the cochlear

Question 14

Hearing test results
What does the triangle mean

Answer 14

Bone conduction threshold

Question 15

Hearing test results
What does the circle symbol mean

Answer 15

Air conduction threshold

Question 16

Hearing test results
What does 0 mean

Answer 16

Normal/ mean average hearing

Question 17

Hearing test results
What does further down the graph mean

Answer 17

Sound gets louder

Question 18

Higher threshold

Answer 18

Bad
(Lower down the graph)

Question 19

Lower threshold

Answer 19

-good as you can hear quieter sounds
-higher up the graph

Question 20

What is normal hearing

Answer 20

0-20

Question 21

What does -db mean

Answer 21

Better than average

Question 22

What does + db mean

Answer 22

Poorer than average

Question 23

What does the scale on the audiogram go up to

Answer 23

-10 to 120 dB HL

Question 24

What does the y axis on the audiogram mean

Answer 24

Intensity

Question 25

Mild hearing loss

Answer 25

20-40

Question 26

Moderate hearing loss

Answer 26

41-70

Question 27

Severe hearing loss

Answer 27

71-95

Question 28

Profound hearing loss

Answer 28

95-100

Question 29

What shows conductive hearing loss on audiogram

Answer 29

Gap between air conduction and bone conduction

Question 30

What shows conductive hearing loss on the audiogram

Answer 30

Gap between air conduction and bone conduction

Question 31

What shows sensory neural hearing loss on an audiogram

Answer 31

When the bone and air conduction match

Question 32

What shows mixed hearing loss on audiogram

Answer 32

When air-bone-gap is less than 20 dB HL

Question 33

What do outer hair cells do

Answer 33

Hair cells act as amplifiers

Question 34

What is cochlear hearing loss

Answer 34

-outer hair cell damage
-elevates thresholds
-uncomfortable loudness levels
-auditory discrimination and resolution impaire due to smearing of the neural signals
-less able to sort out complex signals like speech
-more susceptible to background noise

Question 35

What do hearing aids do

Answer 35

-can amplify signals to be above threshold
-can limit the amplification so that intense sounds do not exceed ULLs (uncomfortable listening sounds)
-can reduce noise levels if noise is steady state not speech

Question 36

What do hearing aids not do

Answer 36

Cannot do anything about poor frequency resolution
Aids do not restore normal hearing

Question 37

Wide dynamic range compression

Answer 37

Hearing aid boosts the weak sounds but not the louder sounds

Question 38

Behind the ear hearing aids (BTE)

Answer 38

-worn behind the pinna
-coupled to the concha via plastic tube and ear mold
-DSP aids provided by NHS

Question 39

Cochlear implant

Answer 39

-tries to replace cochlear
-requires surgery
-electrodes are placed into cochlear
-termed bionic ear but does not restore hearing to normal
-provides additional sensory input to improve use of auditory information in communication

Question 40

Bone anchored hearing aids

Answer 40

-suitable for people with chronic infection causing constantly draining ears and those with no ear canal
-small titanium fixture implanted behind ear then abutment and sound processor is attached
-connected BAHA transmits sound directly via the titanium fixture using bone as sound pathway
-good for people with middle ear problems

Question 41

What does atresia mean

Answer 41

No ear canal

Question 42

FM systems

Answer 42

-sound changed into an electrical signal by a microphone, superimposed on an FM (frequency modulated)radio signal in a portable transmitter and picked up by a portable FM received worn by listener
-transmitter worn by eg teacher
-received worn by eg student