Glossary of Ear and Hearing Loss Terms

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential.  (See Auditory Brainstem Response testing.)

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response. (See Auditory Brainstem Response testing.)

See Bone Anchored Hearing Aid.

See Vestibular System.

The base of the snail-shell-shaped cochlea nearest the middle ear. The basal region detects high frequency sounds and sends them to the brain.

The central membrane in the cochlea upon which the hair cells rest. The basilar membrane is contained within the Organ of Corti.

Assessment procedures that involve observable responses to sound. The same as Behavioral Observation Audiometry.

A hearing test used with infants and young children in which their behavior (such as eye opening and heard turning) is observed to see how they respond to sound. This testing can be unreliable and can be affected by observer bias. It should be used in conjunction with other tests.

A hearing aid that rests behind the ear. Sound from the aid is carried through a small clear tube to an earmold that fits into the ear.

A condition characterized by sudden, short bursts of vertigo that typically occur with changes in head position. It is often caused when the otoconia get jolted out of their normal positions.

Doctors use the Epley Maneuver to get the otoconia back into their proper places.

This is a special version of the CROS hearing aid that is designed for a person with a partial hearing loss in one ear and a total hearing loss in the other. The person wears what looks like two hearing aids. The one on the deaf side collects sounds from that side and transmits them to the hearing aid on the better side, where these sounds are combined with the sounds amplified from the better side. These combined sounds are then fed into the better ear. With a BICROS hearing aid, you can hear a person talking to you from your deaf side.

Referring to both sides. In the case of ears, refers to both ears.

Hearing loss in both ears.

Refers to both ears.

Hearing with both ears.

Hearing aids worn in both ears at the same time.

Sound received from two ears is perceived as louder than sound received from just one ear.

See Behavioral Observation Audiometry.

The largest and most powerful of the conventional hearing aids. The body of this hearing aid is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and can be worn on the belt or in a pocket. Sound is carried from the aid through a small wire that leads to an earpiece.

A special kind of bone conduction hearing aid. A titanium “post” is surgically implanted into the mastoid bone behind your ear. Once this “post” heals and the bone firmly grows around it (about a month), the hearing aid itself is snapped to the post. The hearing aid vibrates the post, which in turn vibrates your skull, which in turn shakes your cochlea and you hear the sound. BAHA hearing aids work best for people with conductive hearing losses.

The transmission of sound (mechanical vibrations) through the bones of the skull to the inner ear. This is largely how we hear our own voices.

A hearing aid that works by gently vibrating the skull to produce hearing, rather than by putting sound in the ear. Bone conduction hearing aids are used for large conductive hearing losses that cannot be medically corrected.

A hearing test than involves transmitting sound to the inner ear via a small vibrator (bone oscillator or transducer) that is placed on the mastoid bone behind the ear or on the forehead.

The threshold of hearing sensitivity to pure tones delivered from a bone-conduction vibrator.

The system of interconnecting pathways of the inner ear. (See also Vestibular System.)