Glossary of Medical Terms

Audiologist - A university-trained professional with a masterís (MS or MA), doctorate (PhD or EdD) or Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree in audiology. The audiologist is responsible for assessing hearing and for providing rehabilitative services to increase the ability of people with hearing loss to function more efficiently in everyday life.

Audiometer - The electronic instrument used by the audiologist for measuring the threshold of hearing.

Audiometric Evaluation (AE) - term used to describe a diagnostic hearing test, performed by a licensed audiologist. An AE is not just pressing the button when you hear a "beep". Rather, an audiometric evaluation allows the audiologist to determine the type and degree of your hearing loss, and it tells the audiologist how well or how poorly you understand speech. The AE also includes a thorough case history (interview) as well as visual inspection of the ear canals and eardrum.

Audiometry - Specific procedures by which the threshold of hearing is measured.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Test - Also called Brainstem Evoked Response (BSER), Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER), and Auditory Evoked Response (AER), this test objectively measures hearing by placing electrodes on the scalp to record the electrical activity in the brain when sound occurs. It is used for newborn babies, infants, and young children who cannot respond reliably using standard procedures such as visual reinforcement audiometry, play audiometry, or picture identification.

Auditory Training Equipment - Supplementary listening systems that increase audibility for the child with hearing loss. The equipment can be a desktop system or an FM listening system.

Basic training evaluation - A combination of tests and procedures used by audiologists to measure hearing ability.

Binaural - Listening with both ears.

Body Hearing Aid - A hearing aid in which the microphone, amplifier, and battery are housed in a small unit worn on the body. An earmold is connected to a receiver that is connected by a cord to the hearing aid. This type of hearing aid is capable of providing powerful amplification.

Cerumen - Earwax.

Cochlea - The snail-like bony cavity that contains the delicate hair cells located in the inner ear. It is about the size of a dried pea.

Conductive hearing loss - A hearing loss associated with the functioning of the outer or middle ear.

Cued speech - A system of hand shapes used to supplement the information received from speech reading (lip-reading).

DEAF - Webster's New World Dictionary College Edition defines deaf as totally or partially unable to hear. It generally refers to people who usually have little or no useful residual hearing and who employ sign language as their primary mode of communication. Deaf people may also use speech reading, hearing aids, and other assistive technology to aid communication. People who are deaf can be categorized into two groups: congenitally deaf (those who were born deaf) and adventitiously deaf (those who were born with hearing but whose sense of hearing became nonfunctional later in life).

Decibel (db) - A decibel is a unit for measuring the volume of a sound, equal to the logarithm of the ratio of the intensity of the sound to the intensity of an arbitrarily chosen standard sound.

Dispensing Audiologist - An audiologist who, in addition to evaluating a personís hearing ability, selects and fits hearing aids; orders the instruments; sells them to the patients; and provides follow-up care.

Earmold - A specially molded piece of lucite or vinyl material that is attached to a hearing aid to conduct sound into the ear.

Electronystagmography (ENG) - A battery of tests that examine eye movements to evaluate the function of the vestibular (balance) system, the hearing mechanism.

ENT Clinic - An abbreviation for ear, nose, and throat clinic, a place where hearing loss and problems of the ear are diagnosed and treated.

Eustachian Tubes - The soft tubes connecting the middle ear and the back of the mouth that serve to equalize air pressure and to drain fluids.

Feedback - A term that describes what occurs when too much amplified sound escapes from the ear and is picked up by the microphone of the hearing aid causing a high-pitched whistling sound. The whistling persists until turning down the gain control reduces the amplification of the hearing aid.

Frequency - The number of sound vibrations per second. Expressed in Hertz (Hz), corresponding to the pitch of sound.

Hard of Hearing - The term used to describe a degree of hearing loss ranging from mild to profound for which a person usually receives some benefit from amplification. Most people who are hard of hearing are oralists (communicate by using their voice), although a small number learn sign language. Usually they participate in society by using their residual hearing with hearing aids, speech reading, and assistive devices to facilitate communication.

Hearing Aid - An instrument that amplifies sound to assist persons with hearing loss. They are distinguished by where they are worn: in the ear (ITE), in the canal (ITC), completely in the canal (CIC), behind the ear (BTE), or on the body.

Hearing Loss - The difference between the level of sound that can just be heard by an individual with impaired hearing and a standard level that has been determined by averaging measurements from a group of young hearing people. It is usually expressed in decibels.

Inner ear - That part of the ear, particularly the cochlea, that converts mechanical vibrations (sound) into neural messages that are sent to the brain.

Lip reading - The ability to gain understanding of what is being said by watching the lips as well as by watching the face, expressions, and gestures. The term speech reading is now recognized as more descriptive because it includes watching the facial expressions, gestures, and body language as well as the lips.

Medical Clearance - A required recommendation stating a physicianís approval for the purchase of hearing aids, implying that there are no medical contraindications for hearing aid use.

Middle Ear - That part of the ear that conducts sound to the inner ear, consisting of the eardrum (tympanic membrane), middle ear bones (ossicle), and the cavity containing them.

Otolaryingologist - A physician (MD or DO) knowledgeable in diseases of the ear, nose and throat (ENT).

Otologist - A physician who is trained in otolaryngology (the ear, nose, and throat) and who has specialized in problems of the ear.

Otosclerosis - A condition in which the bones of the middle ear become immobile because of bony growth.

Otoscopic Examination - With the use of an otoscope, an instrument with a light and a magnifying glass, the appearance of the outer ear, ear canal, and eardrum is checked for any blockage, inflammation, or infection.

Ototoxins - Medications or drugs that can damage hearing.

Postauricular - An expression used to describe hearing aids worn behind the ear.

Prelingual hearing impairment - Hearing impairment occurring before speech and language has developed normally in a child.

Presbyacusis - Hearing loss associated with living longer.

Pure tone - A sound occurring at one frequency used in audiometry.

Pure tone average - An average of hearing thresholds for selected frequencies, usually 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz used to express the degree of hearing loss.

Relay service - Enables text telephone (TTY) users to communicate with non-TTY users by way of a relay service communications operator. The ADA mandated a nationwide relay service to be completed in 1993.

Semicircular Canals - The organ of balance connected directly to the cochlea in the ear.

Sensori-Neural hearing loss - A hearing loss that results from some damage to the inner ear of pathways to the brain, often resulting in distortion of speech sound. This is not usually alleviated by surgical or medical means.

Speech audiometry - Testing hearing by using speech, usually lists of isolated words or sentences.

Speech Reception Test (SRT) - Using two-syllable words called spondees (e.g., airplane, baseball, rainbow), the audiologist will ask you to repeat each word heard as the loudness is diminished. Some words are very soft and guessing is allowed. The purpose of the test is a crosscheck for the accuracy of the pure tone test results and to check your ability to recognize and repeat words accurately.

Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) - A loss of hearing associated with the effect of loud noise, which disappears after a period of recovery.

Threshold of Hearing - The faintest sound that can be consistently heard at each of the tested frequencies in an audiometric evaluation.

Tympanic membrane - Another name for the eardrum.

Tympanogram - The graph that results from tympanometry, describing the acoustic evaluation of the outer and middle ear's ability to accept and conduct sound.

Tympanometry - The measurement of the outer and middle ear's ability to accept and conduct sound.

Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) - A lighted or animated toy is used to reward a correct response when testing the hearing of very young children (about two years and younger). When the toy is used to get the child to turn toward the source of the sound, it is called Conditioned Orientation Response (COR). The results of the child's responses can be plotted on an audiogram in the same manner as when adults raise their hand, use the signal button, or say yes.

Last revised: April 4, 2002