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Audiology
Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Ancient Greek, Greek branch of learning , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various testing strategies (e.g. behavioral hearing tests, otoacoustic emission measurements, and electrophysiologic tests), audiologists aim to determine whether someone has normal sensitivity to sounds. If hearing loss is identified, audiologists determine which portions of hearing (high, middle, or low frequencies) are affected, to what degree (severity of loss), and where the lesion causing the hearing loss is found (outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, auditory nerve and/or central nervous system). If an audiologist determines that a hearing loss or vestibular abnormality is present, they will provide recommendations for interventions or rehabilitation (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implants, appropria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auditory Processing Disorder
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the way the brain processes sounds. Individuals with APD usually have normal structure and function of the ear, but cannot process the information they hear in the same way as others do, which leads to difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially the sounds composing speech. It is thought that these difficulties arise from dysfunction in the central nervous system. A subtype is known as King-Kopetzky syndrome or auditory disability with normal hearing (ADN), characterised by difficulty in hearing speech in the presence of background noise. This is essentially a failure or impairment of the cocktail party effect ( selective hearing) found in most people. The American Academy of Audiology notes that APD is diagnosed by difficulties in one or more auditory processes known to reflect the function of the central auditory nervous system. It can affect both children and adults, and may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Of Audiology
The Doctor of Audiology (AuD, sometimes written Au.D.) is a professional degree for an audiologist. The AuD program is designed to produce audiologists who are skilled in providing diagnostic, rehabilitative, and other services associated with hearing, balance, tinnitus management, and related audiological fields. These individuals help patients with hearing problems primarily by diagnosing hearing loss and fitting hearing assistive devices. Within the AuD training program, there is an emphasis on the clinical learning experience, though most programs also have a research component. The majority of AuD programs include three years of didactic and clinical instruction and a one-year externship. A few schools offer accelerated three-year programs. Programs differ in their prerequisite requirements for admission, though broadly applicants must have some background in the natural and social sciences, mathematics, and humanities. While it may be helpful for applicants to have a back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken language, and in adults it can create difficulties with social interaction and at work. Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent. Hearing loss related to age usually affects both ears and is due to cochlear hair cell loss. In some people, particularly older people, hearing loss can result in loneliness. Hearing loss may be caused by a number of factors, including: genetics, ageing, exposure to noise, some infections, birth complications, trauma to the ear, and certain medications or toxins. A common condition that results in hearing loss is chronic ear infections. Certain infections during pregnancy, such as cytomegalovirus, syphilis and rubella, may also cause hearing loss in the child. Hearing loss is diagnosed when hearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but this is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearing, or is associated with other problems. The word ''tinnitus'' comes from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:en:tinnitus#Latin, tinnire'', "to ring." In some people, it interferes with concentration, and can be associated with anxiety and Depression (mood), depression. Tinnitus is usually associated with hearing loss and decreased comprehension of speech in noisy environments. It is common, affecting about 10–15% of people. Most tolerate it well, and it is a significant (severe) problem in only 1–2% of people. It can trigger a fight-or-flight response, as the brain may perceive it as dangerous and important. Rather than a disease, tinnitus is a sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperacusis
Hyperacusis is an increased Hearing, sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise. Definitions of hyperacusis can vary significantly; it often revolves around damage to or dysfunction of the Stapes, ''stapes'' bone, stapedius muscle or tensor tympani. It is often categorized into four subtypes: loudness, pain (also called noxacusis), annoyance, and fear. It can be a highly debilitating Auditory processing disorder, hearing disorder. There are a variety of causes and risk factors, with the most common being exposure to loud noise. It is often coincident with tinnitus. Proposed mechanisms in the literature involve dysfunction in the brain, inner ear, or middle ear. Little is known about the prevalence of hyperacusis, in part due to the degree of variation in the term's definition. Reported prevalence estimates vary widely, and further research is needed to obtain strong epidemiological data. Signs and symptoms Hyperacusis symptoms can include an increased per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hearing Aids
A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers such as personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) or other plain sound reinforcing systems cannot be sold as "hearing aids". Early devices, such as ear trumpets or ear horns, were passive amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and direct it into the ear canal. Modern devices are computerised electroacoustic systems that transform environmental sound to make it audible, according to audiometrical and cognitive rules. Modern devices also utilize sophisticated digital signal processing, aiming to improve speech intelligibility and comfort for the user. Such signal processing includes feedback management, wide dynamic range compression, directionality, frequency lowering, and noise reduction. Modern hearing aids requ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening
Universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS), which is part of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programmes, refer to those services aimed at screening hearing of all newborns, regardless of the presence of a risk factor for hearing loss. UNHS is the first step in the EHDI program which indicates whether a newborn requires further audiological assessment to determine the presence or absence of permanent hearing loss. Newborn hearing screening uses objective testing methods (usually otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing or automated auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing) to screen the hearing of all newborns in a particular target region, regardless of the presence or absence of risk factors. Even among developed countries, until the 1990s, it could take years for hearing-impaired child to be diagnosed and to benefit from a health intervention and amplification. This delay still can happen in developing countries. If children are not exposed to sounds and language du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hearing (sense)
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory science. Sound may be heard through solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ..., liquid, or gaseous matter. It is one of the traditional five senses. Partial or total inability to hear is called hearing loss. In humans and other vertebrates, hearing is performed primarily by the auditory system: mechanical waves, known as vibrations, are detected by the ear and transduction (physiology), transduced into nerve impulses that are perceived by the brain (primarily in the temporal lobe). Like touch, audition requires sensitivity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cochlear Implant
A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech understanding in both quiet and noisy environments. A CI bypasses acoustic hearing by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Through everyday listening and auditory training, cochlear implants allow both children and adults to learn to interpret those signals as speech and sound. The implant has two main components. The outside component is generally worn behind the ear, but could also be attached to clothing, for example, in young children. This component, the sound processor, contains microphones, electronics that include digital signal processor (DSP) chips, battery, and a coil that transmits a signal to the implant across the skin. The inside component, the actual implant, has a coil to receive signals, elect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Misophonia
Misophonia (or selective sound sensitivity syndrome) is a disorder of decreased Distress tolerance, tolerance to specific sounds or their associated Stimulus (psychology), stimuli, or cues. These cues, known as "triggers", are experienced as Distress (medicine), unpleasant or distressing and tend to evoke strong negative emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses not seen in most other people. Misophonia and the behaviors that people with misophonia often use to cope with it (such as experiential avoidance, avoidance of "triggering" situations or using hearing protection) can adversely affect the ability to achieve life goals, communicate effectively, and enjoy social situations. Originating within the field of audiology in 2001, the condition remained largely undescribed in the clinical and research literature until 2013, when a group of psychiatrists at Amsterdam University Medical Center published a detailed misophonia case series and proposed the condition as a "new ps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
