Knowing How You Hear May Help Interpret a Hearing Test

Posted by Andrea Avery on 12/21/12 ? Categorized as Health and Fitness

Understanding how the ear works may be helpful so that you can understand the results of your hearing test. The intricacies of the ear are amazing as is the process that takes place in order for an individual to finally get a message. There are three main steps that the sound goes through in order to give a message to the hearer.

You could get very philosophical when it comes to sound. The old question of whether a tree made a noise when it fell in the woods if no one was there to hear it is an example. Most people would agree that the tree did make a sound. The sound produced by the tree falling would produce a vibration. The rate at which the vibration would take place is called a frequency. The amplitude of that tree falling is how loud the sound was when it fell. It would have done this whether or not someone was there listening.

In order for someone to hear, a sound must first of all take place. Once a sound takes place it goes into the ear and causes the eardrum to vibrate.

From that initial step, the vibrations of the eardrum cause the middle ear bones to vibrate. At this point the sound gets louder and travels to the inner ear.

It is in the inner ear and onward that the most exciting intricacies of the ear take place. The Labyrinth of the inner ear has fluid in it. In that fluid area is the Cochlea. The cochlea is filled with tiny hairs called cilia. These hairs move as sound causes the fluid in the inner ear to move. The movement of the cilia causes a nerve impulse to the auditory nerve, which is where the final step in hearing takes place.

It is a very involved process. So you can see why there are a few reasons why a hearing test might be failed. The problem could be with the anatomy of the ear. There could be parts missing or malformations. You could have also damaged the ear. An individual could have too much fluid in the ear, or someone could be lacking in cilia that would also cause problems. Another scenario includes a problem with the auditory nerve. It could be missing, weakened, or paralyzed.

Having a hearing test is very important if you do not believe you hear as well as you should. After you have a full test, an audiologist should be able to explain to some degree what is going on with your ears. Further testing may also be necessary. Hopefully, knowing in advance how the ear works will help you to understand what is going on in your own ears.

Learn how well your hearing is. Find out more about Fresno, CA hearing test at: http://www.miracle-ear-fresno-visalia.com.

Source: http://www.articlesrx.com/knowing-how-you-hear-may-help-interpret-a-hearing-test/9932

rimm george h w bush pauly d project adrienne rich autism cesar chavez day raspberry ketone