Hearing Instrument Specialist UPDATED
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Pure tone - CORRECT ANSWER - Single frequency
Complex tone - CORRECT ANSWER - Multiple frequencies
Sound - CORRECT ANSWER - Result of motion of a vibrating source
How does sound travel? - CORRECT ANSWER - On waves that are created by vibrations
Wave - CORRECT ANSWER - A force or disturbance that travels through a medium such
as liquid, solid, or air, transporting energy from one molecule to the next
What are sound pressure waves are comprised of? - CORRECT ANSWER - Areas of
compression (greater pressure) and rarefraction (less pressure)
Compression - CORRECT ANSWER - Occurs when molecules move closer together
Rarefraction - CORRECT ANSWER - Occurs when molecules spread apart
What are sound pressure waves collected by? - CORRECT ANSWER - The outer ear,
channelled to the eardrum which causes it to vibrate with the alternating pressure
Another word for compression - CORRECT ANSWER - Condensation
,Sine wave - CORRECT ANSWER - Represents pressure as a function of time; 1 cycle per
second or 1 Hertz (Hz)
Psychoacoustics - CORRECT ANSWER - Perception of sound
Intensity - CORRECT ANSWER - Loudness; measured in dB SPL or HL; physical
measurement that expresses signal amplitude
Frequency - CORRECT ANSWER - Pitch; physical measurement of cycles per second
(Hz)
Normal human ear responds to what frequency range? - CORRECT ANSWER - 20 to
20,000 Hz
Frequencies that the human ear are most sensitive to? - CORRECT ANSWER - Between
3000 and 4000 Hz
Audiometer - CORRECT ANSWER - Instrument that measures frequency and intensity
ranges; results displayed on an audiogram
What is the function of critical bands? - CORRECT ANSWER - Enables the normal ear to
efficiently detect small frequency differences in complex sounds like speech; 1/3 octave wide;
contributes to our ability to hear in background noise
How is intensity/loudness measured? - CORRECT ANSWER - Decibels (dB)
How is frequency/pitch measured? - CORRECT ANSWER - Hertz (Hz)
Inner ear - CORRECT ANSWER - Innermost part of the ear; contains the cochlea,
semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
, Stapes - CORRECT ANSWER - Stirrup; involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to
the inner ear; smallest bone in the human body; footplate is fixed in the oval window
Incus - CORRECT ANSWER - Anvil; transmits vibrations between the malleus and
stapes; 7mm long
Malleus - CORRECT ANSWER - Hammer; transmits vibrations of the eardrum to the
incus; embedded in the fibrous layer of the TM; 9mm long
Cochlea - CORRECT ANSWER - Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through
which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
Pinna - CORRECT ANSWER - Auricle, or outer ear; skin-covered flexible cartilaginous
structure
Tragus - CORRECT ANSWER - Cartilaginous projection anterior to the external opening
of the ear
Antitragus - CORRECT ANSWER - Small eminence obliquely opposite the tragus;
located on the superior border of the earlobe
Phase - CORRECT ANSWER - Measured from the point at which the wave's cycle of
vibration begins
A phase is measured in? - CORRECT ANSWER - Degrees
How do sound waves travel? - CORRECT ANSWER - In expanding spherical patterns in
all directions; the denser the medium, the faster the sound will travel
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Pure tone - CORRECT ANSWER - Single frequency
Complex tone - CORRECT ANSWER - Multiple frequencies
Sound - CORRECT ANSWER - Result of motion of a vibrating source
How does sound travel? - CORRECT ANSWER - On waves that are created by vibrations
Wave - CORRECT ANSWER - A force or disturbance that travels through a medium such
as liquid, solid, or air, transporting energy from one molecule to the next
What are sound pressure waves are comprised of? - CORRECT ANSWER - Areas of
compression (greater pressure) and rarefraction (less pressure)
Compression - CORRECT ANSWER - Occurs when molecules move closer together
Rarefraction - CORRECT ANSWER - Occurs when molecules spread apart
What are sound pressure waves collected by? - CORRECT ANSWER - The outer ear,
channelled to the eardrum which causes it to vibrate with the alternating pressure
Another word for compression - CORRECT ANSWER - Condensation
,Sine wave - CORRECT ANSWER - Represents pressure as a function of time; 1 cycle per
second or 1 Hertz (Hz)
Psychoacoustics - CORRECT ANSWER - Perception of sound
Intensity - CORRECT ANSWER - Loudness; measured in dB SPL or HL; physical
measurement that expresses signal amplitude
Frequency - CORRECT ANSWER - Pitch; physical measurement of cycles per second
(Hz)
Normal human ear responds to what frequency range? - CORRECT ANSWER - 20 to
20,000 Hz
Frequencies that the human ear are most sensitive to? - CORRECT ANSWER - Between
3000 and 4000 Hz
Audiometer - CORRECT ANSWER - Instrument that measures frequency and intensity
ranges; results displayed on an audiogram
What is the function of critical bands? - CORRECT ANSWER - Enables the normal ear to
efficiently detect small frequency differences in complex sounds like speech; 1/3 octave wide;
contributes to our ability to hear in background noise
How is intensity/loudness measured? - CORRECT ANSWER - Decibels (dB)
How is frequency/pitch measured? - CORRECT ANSWER - Hertz (Hz)
Inner ear - CORRECT ANSWER - Innermost part of the ear; contains the cochlea,
semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs
, Stapes - CORRECT ANSWER - Stirrup; involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to
the inner ear; smallest bone in the human body; footplate is fixed in the oval window
Incus - CORRECT ANSWER - Anvil; transmits vibrations between the malleus and
stapes; 7mm long
Malleus - CORRECT ANSWER - Hammer; transmits vibrations of the eardrum to the
incus; embedded in the fibrous layer of the TM; 9mm long
Cochlea - CORRECT ANSWER - Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through
which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
Pinna - CORRECT ANSWER - Auricle, or outer ear; skin-covered flexible cartilaginous
structure
Tragus - CORRECT ANSWER - Cartilaginous projection anterior to the external opening
of the ear
Antitragus - CORRECT ANSWER - Small eminence obliquely opposite the tragus;
located on the superior border of the earlobe
Phase - CORRECT ANSWER - Measured from the point at which the wave's cycle of
vibration begins
A phase is measured in? - CORRECT ANSWER - Degrees
How do sound waves travel? - CORRECT ANSWER - In expanding spherical patterns in
all directions; the denser the medium, the faster the sound will travel
