HearingandDeafness

ChrisDarwin
ExperimentalPsychology
UniversityofSussex

Outer,middleandinnerear

Typesofhearingloss1
1. Conductive Hearing Loss
defect in the external or middle ear sound not
getting into inner ear
severe hearing loss up to 60 dB (talking)
can interfere with language development
middle ear effusions
mild loss: up to 30 dB (whisper)

Cochleacrosssection

OrganofCorti

OrganofCortiinaction

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Cinepak decompressor
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Reponseofbasilarmembrane
tosinewaves
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GIF decompressor
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Eachpointonthemembraneactslikebandpassfiltertunedtoa
differentfrequency:highfreqatbase,lowatapex.
Eachpointvibratesatfrequencyofpuretone(>phaselocking)

Reponseofbasilarmembrane
tosinewaves

QuickTime and a
Cinepak decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Eachpointonthemembraneactslikebandpassfiltertunedtoa
differentfrequency:highfreqatbase,lowatapex.
Eachpointvibratesatfrequencyofpuretone(>phaselocking)

OuterHaircell

QuickTime and a
GIF decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Typesofhearingloss2
Sensorineural(SNHL):
Sensorineural(SNHL)
Outerhaircelldamage(andinner)
fromcumulativeexposuretoloud
sound
Breakdownofcochlearfrequency
analysis
Onlypartialhelpfromhearingaids

SymptomsofSNHL
(fromOHCloss)

Raisedthresholds:
helpedbyamplification

Widerbandwidths:
nohelppossible

Recruitment(restricteddynamicrange):
partlyhelpedbyautomaticgaincontrolsinmoderndigitalaids

Oftenaccompaniedbytinnitus

ConductivevsSensorineuraldeafness
Mostlyacombinationof
OHCandIHCdamage
Conductive

Sensori-neural

Sensori-neural

Origin

Middle-ear

Cochlea (IHCs)

Cochlea (OHCs)

Thresholds

Raised

Raised

Raised

Filter bandwidths

Normal

Normal

Increased

Loudness growth

Normal

Normal

Increased (Recruitment

NormalvsImpairedHearing

Demoofhearingloss
from"Perceptualconsequencesofcochleardamage"by
BrianCJMoore.OUP1995.

Normal

SNHL
slopingloss
mildatlowfrequencies
severeathighfrequencies

Excitationpatternofcomplextoneonbm

Output of 1600 Hz filter

Output of 200 Hz filter

1/200s = 5ms

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

-0.2

0.2

0.4

-0.4
-0.6

-0.8
-1

0.6

0.8

Cochlearexcitationpatterns
Excitation Pattern

30.0

Excitation Pattern

30.0

25.0

25.0

20.0

20.0

15.0

15.0

10.0

10.0

5.0

5.0

0.0

0.0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

500

frequency

Normal

1000

1500

frequency

Bandwidthsthreetimesbroader

2000

Levelsofhearingloss
Loss of hearing ranging from
mild (<60 dB), to
severe (60-80 dB), to
profound (>85 dB).
prevalence: 1/1000 children (severe to profound hearing loss)
incidence: 1/1000 babies born deaf
1/50 infants from an NICU have significant hearing loss
1/10 children develop hearing problems at some time

EffectsofSNHLonspeech
Speechveryredundant
Highpass1400Hz=Lowpass1400Hz

Highfrequenciesmostaffected
prosodicfeaturesbest(pitchgivenbylowfreqs)
consonantsworsethanvowels
lipreadinghelpsplaceinformationinconsonants

Widerbandwidths>moremasking

Suitabilityforimplant
Over 2 years of age
*

Profound hearing loss in both ears

Does not benefit from conventional hearing aids

Has strong desire to communicate

CochlearImplant

1. Mic. 2.Lead 3. speech processor. 4 the transmitting coil 5.

Transmitting coil sends the signals transdermally to the implanted
receiver/stimulator via an FM radio signal. 6. The receiver
stimulator 7. The electrodes along the array stimulate the
remaining auditory nerve fibers in the cochlea. 8. auditory nerve

Cochlearimplant2

Shannon
Implant
Demo

Typesofhearingloss
3. Cortical Hearing Loss
*
inadequate transmission of the neural impulses from the inner
ear to the temporal lobes
*
associated with diseases of the White Matter
*
results in several different types of hearing loss:

1. Cortical Deafness
*

affects perception of all sounds

2. Cortical Agnosia
*

affects perception of environmental sounds

3. Verbal Auditory Agnosia

*
affects perception of language and results in severe receptive
dysphasia