Hearing and Balance

Question 1

what does the middle ear transform acoustic energy to and from?

Answer 1

it transforms it from the medium of air to the medium of sound

Question 2

what part of the ear acts as a sound amplifier?

Answer 2

the middle ear

Question 3

what problems are associated with the middle ear that will effect the hearing?

Answer 3

> perforation (small and sub total)
eroded incus
dislocation of ossicles by trauma
otosclerosis

Question 4

describe how sound travels through the cochlea

Answer 4

vibrations travel up the scala lymph through the spiral then down to the round membrane where the pressure different stimulates it

Question 5

what is rich in potassium and low in sodium, the peri lymph or scala lymph?

Answer 5

the peri lymph

Question 6

in the organ of corti what opens when the cilia are moved by the sound waves?

Answer 6

the ion channels

Question 7

how would you assess hearing?

Answer 7

> whisper test
tuning fork test
audiometry
objective testing

Question 8

what does webers test?

Answer 8

lateralisation

Question 9

what would you expect to see in rinnes test is there is a conduction loss?

Answer 9

air conduction would be lower than bone conduction as this is bypassing the blockage

Question 10

what is rinne’s testing?

Answer 10

the comparative loudness of perceived air conduction to bone conduction in one ear at a time

Question 11

what would you expect to see in rinnes test if the problem is due to sensory neuro loss?

Answer 11

conduction is not picked up well by the affected ear