AUDITION 1

Dr JO
MBBS MD

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SYLLABUS
1. Acoustics – frequency, amplitude of sound, pitch, intensity, and
quality of sound. Functional anatomy of the ear. Functions of
external, middle and inner ear - 1hr
2. Cochlea – structure, Organ of corti. Hair cell physiology- receptor
potential. Mechano-electrical transduction by hair cells.
Endocochlear potential. Descrimination of pitch(travelling wave
theory) and intensity of sound - 2hr
3. Auditory pathway. Sound localization, pitch discrimination, masking
of sounds. Deafness (conduction and nerve deafness) – 1hr
4. Audiometry (details in practicals) - 1
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Acoustics
1. Frequency,
2. amplitude of sound,
3. pitch,
4. intensity, and
5. quality of sound.
6. Functional anatomy of the ear.
7. Functions of external, middle and inner ear

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 SOUND WAVES
• Sound waves are alternate compression and rarefaction of
molecules that strike the tympanic membrane to produce the
sensation of sound and travel through an elastic medium like air or
water

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Speed of sound
• Speed of sound in air- 340 m/s at 20 °C at sea level
• speed is more in hot environment and high altitude
• speed decreases with decrease in temperature
• Sound waves travel with a much greater speed in water, and the
speed is more in seawater than freshwater(1400m/s)

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1. Frequency
• It is the number of waves per second
• Its unit is Hertz (1 Hz = 1 cycle per second)
• Audible range of frequency for human ear is 20–20,000 Hz
• More sensitive area- frequencies of 1,000–4,000 Hz.

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2. Amplitude of sound
• It is the measure of height of the wave

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 frequency is also expressed as tone or pitch
• Pure tone : A sinusoidal sound wave
having one frequency is called a, e.g. 50
Hz or 100 Hz
• Complex sound wave: contains more
than one frequency

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3. Pitch
• subjective sensation produced by the frequency of sound
• greater the frequency, the higher is the pitch.
• During normal conversation
• male pitch ~120 Hz and
• female pitch ~250 Hz
• A person can differentiate about 2,000 pitches and this
capacity can improve with training.
• Pitch discrimination is best between 1,000 Hz and3,000 Hz.
• Human ear can sense a difference in frequency of as little
as 3 Hz in this range

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Wavelength
• distance between the two
adjacent peaks is known as
the wavelength of sound.
• It is inversely related to
frequency.

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4. LOUDNESS. LOUDNESS. LOUDNESS. LOUDNESS
1. amplitude of sound waves determines
the loudness or intensity of the sound
• greater the amplitude, the louder is the
sound.
2. Frequency also affects loudness

> Sound intensity is measured in units called

decibels (dB).
> human audibility curve ranges from 0 dB
to 100 dB
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• The human audibility curve ranges from 0 dB to 100 dB, and the
human ear is more sensitive to intensity of about 60 dB at a
frequency of 1,000–4,000 Hz.

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5. Quality of sound
• It is the characteristic of sound which help to differentiate 2
sounds even when they have same pitch or loudness
• Eg: sound of a trained and untrained individual(music)

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HEARING THRESHOLD
• The threshold of hearing is 0 dB at 1,000 Hz for a normal young adult
in a noise-free environment
• decibel scales for common sounds
• 0 dB Hearing threshold
• 20 dB Whispering
• 60 dB Normal conversation
• 80 dB Shouting
• 120 dB Uncomfortable to the ear
• 140 dB Pain and damage to the ear
• sound is felt, as well as heard at a level of 140 dB
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MASKING
• The hearing threshold for a given sound increases in the presence of
background sounds or noise. This phenomenon is known as masking
• Mechanism of Masking
1. Background noise stimulate auditory receptors and they are in an absolute
refractory period when the actual sound arises→ sensitivity of the auditory
apparatus to a given tone decreases in the presence of other sounds
2. degree to which a given sound can be masked depends on the frequency of
the masking sound
1. Low-frequency sounds masks high-frequency sounds more effectively
2. White noise: broad-spectrum noise which can mask a wide range of test
frequencies(frequencies used for testing)

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 ********************

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