Audiology "Mini Exam" Vocabulary

Carrying impulses from the periphery toward the brain

Condition associated with aging that accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of senile dementias and is associated with a variety of symptoms, notable memory loss

The widened end of each of the three semi-circular

canals where they return to the utricle. Each ampulla contains an end organ for the sense of equilibrium.

Absence of the pinna

Congenital closure of a normally open body orifice,

such as the external auditory canal.

The cartilaginous appendage of the external ear.

Unit for expressing ratios of sound pressures in base 10

logarithms.

Artifact in the bone-conduction audiograms

of patients with otosclerosis that makes it appear as though

their sensorineural sensitivity is slightly poorer than it truly

is. It is most evident at 2,000 Hz and often disappears following corrective surgery.

That area at the base of the brain at the junction of the cerebellum, medulla, and pons.

Tumor, usually occurring in the middle ear and mastoid, that combines fats and epithelium from outside the middle-ear space.

Series of arches made up of the rods of Corti in the cochlear duct.

The impairment of cognitive and intellectual functions.

It is usually progressive and age-related, and is usually

characterized by disorientation and impaired memory, judgment, and intellect.

The smaller of two cochlear nuclei on each side of the brain, it receives fibers from the cochlea on the ipsilateral side.

Syndrome characterized by mental retardation;

a small, slightly flattened skull; low-set ears; abnormal

digits; and other unusual facial and body characteristics.

Also known as trisomy 21 syndrome

Carrying impulses from the brain toward the periphery.

Produced or originating within the organism.

Inability to perform socially useful functions

due to hearing loss. A given disability may or may not

present a handicap.

The ways in which a hearing loss has a frustrating effect on individual roles or goals.

Abnormality of structure or function that is physiological, psychological, or anatomical.

Inflammation of the labyrinth, resulting in hearing loss and vertigo.

Operation to remove infected cells of the

mastoid. Mastoidectomies are termed as simple, radical, and modified radical, depending on the extent of surgery.

Infection of the mastoid.

Disease of the inner ear whose symptoms

include tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss (usually fluctuating and unilateral).

Oscillatory motion of the eyes.

The end organ of hearing found within the

scala media of the cochlea.

Inflammation of bone caused by a purulent infection.

Any infection in the middle ear

Any discharge from the external auditory canal or

from the middle ear.

Poisonous to the ear.

The fluid contained in both the auditory and vestibular

portions of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear.

Permanent sensory/neuralloss of hearing, usually associated with exposure to intense noise.

Hearing loss associated with old age.

The number of existing cases of a disease or condition

within a population at any given time.

The mathematical result of a quantity divided by

another quantity of the same kind, often expressed as a

fraction.

Large increase in the perceived loudness of a signal

produced by relatively small increases in intensity above

threshold; it is symptomatic of some hearing losses produced by damage to the cochlea.

Pertaining to the protein factor found on the surface

of the red blood cells in most humans. Named for the

Rhesus monkey, in which it was first observed.

Operation designed to improve hearing in

cases of otosclerosis by removing the affected stapes and

replacing it with a prosthesis.

Vascular strip that lies along the outer wall

of the scala media. It is responsible for the secretion and

absorption of endolymph, it supplies oxygen and nutrients

to the organ of Corti, and it affects the positive DC potential

of the endolymph.

The sensation that a person (or his or her surroundings)

is whirling or spinning.

A tumor involving the nerve sheath of the auditory nerve.

A precipitous increase in hearing loss in 3000 to 6000 Hz range, with recovery of hearing function at higher frequencies. It is usually, but not exclusivley

Paralysis of the peripheral branch of the facial (VII th cranial) nerve.

A branch of the facial nerve that passes through the middle ear. It conveys information about taste from the anterior two-thirds of one side of the tongue.

A cavity in the inner ear resembling a snail shell and responsible for converting sound waves into an electrochemical signal that can be sent to the brain for interpretation.

The fluid contained within the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear both the auditory and vestibular portions.

The channel connecting the middle ear with the nasopharynx on each side. It is lined with mucous membrane and is sometimes called the auditory tube

A process of the malleus embedded in the fibrous layer of the tympanic membrane.

Procedures for testing the hearing function that do not require behavioral responses

Pain in the ear.

Non –organic hearing , fake False and Exaggerated Hearing Loss

Frequently misdiagnosed as a peripheral vestibular disorder, SCDS symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and disequilibrium are induced by intense sounds or change in middle-ear pressure.

The thin vibrating membrane between the outer and middle ears, located at the end of the external auditory canal. It compromises an outer layer of skin, a middle layer of connective tissue, and an inner layer of mucous membrane.

A sight indentation at the approximate center of the tympanic membrane at the tip of the malleus; the point at which the tympanic membrane is most retracted.