CSD 494 Chapter 2

a graphic representation of hearing thresholds as a function of stimulus frequency.

an instrument for measuring hearing sensitivity for a range of frequencies.

the level at which sound can be detected only 50% of the time.

refers to when sound travels through the air into the external auditory canal and stimulation progress through the middle ear, inner ear, and to the brain.

is an earphone whose receiver is attacched to the tube that leads to an expansive cuff. It can be inserted into the external auditory canal.

refers to the transmission of sound through the bones in the body, particularly the skull. Measured through a vibrator placed on the mastoid.

is the difference between air- and bone-conduction thresholds; a difference may indicate a conductive component in the hearing loss.

is the intensity of sound expressed in decibels.

is the number of regularly repeated events in a given unit of time; ususally measured in cycles per second and expressed in Hertz (Hz).

is often used to assign a label to indicate the degree of hearing loss.

• Normal: 25 dB HL or better in adults or 20 dB HL or better in children
• Mild: 26 - 40 dB HL.
• Moderate: 41 - 55 dB HL.
• Moderate to Severe: 56 - 70 dB HL.
• Severe: 71 - 90 dB HL.
• Profound: poorer than 90 dB HL

The audiological examination usually includes speech testing in addition to the audiogram. Results will indicate how hearing loss affects a patient's ability to detect and recognize speech and the level of sound necessary for comfortable listening.

is the lowest presentation level for spondee words at which 50% can be identified correctly.

are two-syllable words spoken with equal stress on each syllable.

a term that is not used very often anymore, refers to the percentage of monosyllabic words presented and can be identified correctly.

is the level at which sound is most comfortable for a listener.

the level at which sound becomes increasingly uncomfortably loud for the listener.

is the difference in decibels between a person's threshold for just being able to detect speech and the person's threshold for uncomfortable listening.

is the position of the loudspeaker relative to the listener, measured in angular degrees in the horizontal plane.

converts electrical energy into sound.

determines hearing sensitivity or speech recognition ability by presenting signals in a sound field through a loudspeaker.

are unventilated air spaces.

• to determine need for amplification
• to compare performance with listening aid and without it -- to gain patient's confidence.
• to compare different listening devices.
• to demonstrate diminished speech recognition
• to demo the benefits of visual speech info.
• to obtain info about envirnment-related listening issues
• to assess performance longitudinally
• to determine need for auditory or speechreading training
• to determine placement within a training curriculum
• to evaluate the appropriateness of educational placement
• to determine if expected benefit has been achieved

it the means used by the sender to share information with a receiver and may include speech, sign, writing, hand gestures, or any other system of shared symbols.

is the smallest class of speech sounds in a language.

are syllables of speech that have no meaning.

are categorical properties of phonemes; a phoneme can be described as a bundle of speech features.

is a statistical procedure that analyzes the transmission of "speech features". If "eepee" and "eetee" are confused then the patient gets credit for the "voicing", but not the "place".

statistical approach where data points are represented in a geometric space: two phonemes that are similar will be placed near one-another.

• A statistical approach that attempts to organize data into groups or clusters: b,d and g would cluster together.