ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF HEARING.ppt

Spontaneous OAE. Narrow-band signals. SPLs of 10 to 30 dB. 59 dB SPL (dog). Some people with easily recorded spontaneous OAEs do not hear the emission and complain of tinnitus. Distortion product OAE Two primary tones are presented to the cochlea, several distortion products are produced. 2F1–F2. 50 - 60 dB below the level of the primaries. 20 - 30 dB more robust in rodents. Otoacoustic emissions Transient OAE is the most sensitive measure of hearing loss among children. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF HEARING External Ear The concha, or cave of the pinna ? resonance of about 5 kHz. The irregular surface of the pinna introduces other resonances and antiresonances. Differentiate sound sources. External Ear The resonant frequency: determined by the length of the tube. the curvature of the tube is irrelevant. For a tube of 2.5 cm ? 3.5 kHz. Noise-induced hearing losses ? 4-kHz (boilermaker’s notch). External Ear Localization of sound sources: the head acts as an attenuator at frequencies (width of the head wavelength of the sound). head shadow effect ( 2 kHz) ? interaural intensity differences of 5-15 dB. interaural time differences (about 0.6 msec for sound to travel across the head). External Ear 10-15 dB gain(3-5 kHz) ? improving the detection and recognition of low-energy, high-frequency sounds (voiceless fricatives). Acoustic properties of the external ear and head ? hearing-aid design and evaluations. External Ear The resonance of the external canal is about 8 kHz in the infant. Decreases to adult values after about age 2.5 years. Sound field testing, hearing-aid design and evaluations for infants. Middle Ear Impedance-matching device: air (low) ? fluid-filled cochlea (high). The impedance match is achieved in three ways: effective vibratory area of the TM is about 17-20 times stapes footplate. lever action of the ossicular chain. the shape of the tympanic membrane. ? 25 to 30 dB. Middle Ear Less than half of the power entering the middle ear actually