Hearing and listening

Question 1

How are sounds produced?

Answer 1

By objects that vibrate, causing air molecules to condense and rarefy

Question 2

What do the grouped and spaced sections on a diagram represent?

Answer 2

Grouped = peaks, spaced = troughs

Question 3

What is our audible range

Answer 3

20uPA to 100,000,000uPA

Question 4

Define wavelength

Answer 4

Distance between 2 peaks

Question 5

Define frequency

Answer 5

Rate at which pressure cycles between compression and rarefraction

Question 6

What determines timbre?

Answer 6

Different frequencies determine timbre

Question 7

What is the outer ear called?

Answer 7

Pinna

Question 8

What do funnels into the ear canal assist with?

Answer 8

Helps with sound localisation

Question 9

What are the middle ear bones known as?

Answer 9

Ossicles

Question 10

State the purpose of ossicles

Answer 10

Connects tympanic membrane to cochlea.

Question 11

What does the middle ear act as?

Answer 11

An impendence transformer

Question 12

What is the cochlea?

Answer 12

Fluid filled spinal canal, divided by flexible membrane

Question 13

What does peak location depend on?

Answer 13

Depends on stimulus frequency

Question 14

Describe the function of the basilar membrane?

Answer 14

Filters sound according to frequency

Question 15

State the 3 sections of the cochlea

Answer 15

Scala vestibuli, tectorial & basilar membrane, scala tympani

Question 16

Describe the structure of the organ of corti

Answer 16

Sits on top of basilar membrane, inner and outer hair cells are mounted on it

Question 17

How is depolarisation caused by hair cells?

Answer 17

Hair cells are pushed right

Question 18

What happens when the hair cells are pushed left?

Answer 18

Hyperpolarisation

Question 19

What causes the outer hair cells to move?

Answer 19

Move in response to electrical and chemical stimulation

Question 20

What are the 3 consequences?

Answer 20

Dancing hair cells, amplifies movement of basilar membrane, vibrations transmitted as sound

Question 21

The 2 causes of hearing loss are what?

Answer 21

Age related changes to the inner ear, noise induced hearing loss

Question 22

Older age changes are in what…

Answer 22

Temporal processing and auditory cognition

Question 23

State the 2 types of hearing impairment

Answer 23

Conductive and sensorineural

Question 24

Define conductive hearing impairment

Answer 24

Abnormality before cochlea, problem with sound conduction

Question 25

Define sensorineural hearing impairment

Answer 25

Arising in cochlea/auditory nerve, sound not getting to brain properly

Question 26

Describe optoacoustic emissions

Answer 26

Motor of outer hair cells generated vibrations on basilar membrane, vibrations transmitted out of ear as sound

Question 27

What is the supratemporal plane?

Answer 27

Low-level speech cues

Question 28

Describe the superior temporal sulcus

Answer 28

Intelligible speech

Question 29

The superior temporal gyrus is what?

Answer 29

Pre-lexical processing of phonetic cues

Question 30

The SSQ represents what?

Answer 30

Speech, spatial and qualities of hearing questionnaire

Question 31

The 5 things associated with hearing impairment are...

Answer 31

Poorer speech identification, more social identification, social isolation, lower quality of life, depression, accelerated cognitive decline

Question 32

Why is there a low uptake of hearing aids?

Answer 32

Reluctance to feel/look old, amplifying sounds is harder, modern ones convert sound into electrical signals, amplify signal and convert back into sound energy

Question 33

How do cochlear implants work?

Answer 33

Electrode array inserted into cochlea - microphone picks up sound outside head, transmitted to electrode array in cochlea, stimulates auditory nerve.

Question 34

State the 2 ways signals are degraded

Answer 34

Spectrally and temporally

Question 35

How are signals degraded spectrally?

Answer 35

Implant users receive fewer channels of information

Question 36

Describe how signals are degraded temporally

Answer 36

Cochlear implants limited to show fluctuations in amplitude over time