The speech banana is a banana-shaped region where the sounds (

phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...

s) of human languages appear on an

audiogram An audiogram is a graph that shows the audible threshold for standardized frequencies as measured by an audiometer. The Y axis represents intensity measured in decibels (dB) and the X axis represents frequency measured in hertz (Hz). The thresho ...

. (An

is a graphical representation of someone's ability to hear over a range of frequencies and loudness levels. Hearing on an audiogram is displayed as frequency in

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

on the x-axis and loudness in

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...

s on the y-axis.)

Audiologist Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Greek branch of learning , ''-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 ...

s are primarily concerned with hearing loss that occurs within the speech banana because: * In children, it can slow the development of speech and comprehension, and that in turn can profoundly interfere with learning. * In adults, it can hinder communication, which can cause social isolation and may be a risk factor for dementia. Hearing loss is most common in older adults (

presbycusis Presbycusis (also spelled presbyacusis, from Greek πρέσβυς ''presbys'' "old" + ἄκουσις ''akousis'' "hearing"), or age-related hearing loss, is the cumulative effect of aging on hearing. It is a progressive and irreversible bilateral ...

). People with normal hearing can also hear sounds outside of the speech banana, including both lower-pitched sounds (such bass musical notes and rumbling noises) and higher-pitched sounds (such as very high musical notes, the rustling of leaves, and the chirping of birds).

References

External links

* * * * *http://web1.newpaltz.k12.ny.us/local/high_school/Teachers/swunderlich/speech_banana.htm {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902023338/http://web1.newpaltz.k12.ny.us/local/high_school/Teachers/swunderlich/speech_banana.htm , date=2011-09-02 Audiology