Audiology and Hearing Loss

As increasingly noisy environments threaten the aural health of more and more people, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the basic structure and function of the ear, and the threat to its proper functioning that noise exposure creates. This information is organized in five major topics:

A) Basic terms referring to the ear and its study;

Auditory	Aural	Audiology
Audiologist	Aurist	Otology

B) Audiometry and the measurement of hearing ability;

Audiometry	Audiometer	Audiogram	Hearing Level
Threshold of Hearing	Threshold of Pain	Differential Threshold	-

C) The ear: its anatomical structure and function;

Ear	Auricle	Pinna	Tympanum
Eardrum	Middle Ear	Ossicles	Inner Ear
Cochlea	Vestibule	Semicircular Canals	Basilar Membrane
Organ of Corti	Volley Theory	Bone Conduction	Bone Conduction Hearing Level

D) Hearing loss and impairments, the basic types and their causes;

Hearing Loss	Sensory-Neural Hearing Loss	Conductive Hearing Loss	Threshold Shift	Adaptation
Acoustic Trauma	Presbycusis	Occupational Deafness	Sociocusis	Boilermaker's Disease
Acoasma	Tinnitus	Recruitment	Diplacusis	Hyperacusis

E) Damage-risk criteria established to minimize hearing loss, particularly in industry.

OSHA	Damage-Risk Criteria