DCOM 211 Audiology Midterm Exam Questions and Solutions Graded A

What is an audiologist? - A healthcare professional who evaluates, diagnosis, treats, and manages hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance disorders in newborns, children, adults What is audiology? - A health professional devoted to the study, treatment, management and prevention of hearing and balance disorders. The science of hearing History of Audiology - 1945: Audiology coined as a new word 1947: American Speech correction association gave Audiology its first home (renamed ASHA) 1978: Audiologists permitted to dispense hearing aids 1978: ASHA added "speech-language" 1988: American Academy of Audiology was founded 1920s: origins occurred with the first audiometers interest surged after WWII with NIHL Before WWII no audiology at universities 1950s: became part of most university speech centers 1957: USD speech clinic began 1965: Speech/hearing clinic began masters program 1993: masters program became accredited Difference between Licensure and Certification - Licensure is a legal requirement and certification is not. Certification is available for specialties and shows proper training but licensure supersedes certification. Licensure is required to practice audiology in all 50 states and must have completed the course of study and clinical hours. Certification may be required by certain organizations (ASHA) to show preparation and education. Audiologist Work Settings - hospitals (acute, subacute), nursing homes, schools, universities, private practices, medical centers, medical schools, clinics, rehab centers, hearing aid manufacturers, research laboratories, What is the difference between professional and personal scope of practice? - professional scope of practice is everything audiologists are legally allowed to do. Personal scope is everything you have been trained in and are qualified to do. Can audiologist diagnose an ear infection? - Audiologists do not make medical diagnoses: they carefully use existing test data to make conclusions about the status of the auditory system and communicative function, and come up with a suggested course of action and treatment based on that data. Propagation of sound waves through a medium - the foundation of a sound wave is vibration which moves through the air as waves and the random movement of air particles (Brownian motion) turns into to-and-fro movement of compressions and rarefactions (condensed and dispersed) Frequency - Number of cycles occurring in one second; measured in Hertz (Hz) Amplitude - Magnitude or Intensity of a sound wave; the distance a mass moves from its point of rest; measured in decibels (dB); related to Period - The amount of time it takes a sine wave to complete one cycle Wavelength - the length of a sound wave; distance in space that one cycle occupies dB HL vs dB SPL - dB hearing level is used to describe how well someone can hear and measures auditory thresholds, representing the normalized curve. dB sound pressure level represents a physical measurement; measures the loudness of a sound or the output of hearing aids/listening devices.