CLA-5000 Module on Auditory Systems
Auditory Physiology and Psychoacoustics
This course will review our understanding of sound, i.e. the nature of acoustic signals, how we measure them, and important aspects of how sounds are transmitted to the ears. We will examine the structure and function of the auditory system from the ear to auditory cortex. The course will cover the basic mechanics and physiology of the middle ear and cochlea. We will examine in some detail hair cell mechanisms and the coding of sound signals by the cochlea. We will describe key features of central auditory processing, including brainstem mechanisms involved in sound localization and cortical processing of complex sounds including speech-related signals. We will discuss both physiological and behavioral measures of auditory function. Behavioral measures will include basic clinical tests of hearing (e.g. the audiogram) as well as more complex psychophysical assessments. These psychophysical tests include investigations of auditory function in the frequency (spectral) domain, in the temporal domain (timing information in sounds) and in the intensity domain (e.g. loudness measures). In all cases the behavioral measures will be considered for the normal auditory system and for subjects with various types and degrees of hearing problem.
Auditory System Disorders and Diseases
This course is designed to instruct students on important etiologies of hearing loss and related disorders affecting children and adults. Auditory disorders and diseases are reviewed following an anatomical sequence from the external ear to the central auditory system with an emphasis on those etiologies encountered most often in clinical audiology. Coverage of each disorder or disease includes information on prevalence, risk factors, mechanism(s), pathophysiology, medical management, patterns of auditory findings, and implications for general and hearing health. Importantly, a lecture in the course is entirely devoted to medical referral indications and guidelines. The final segment of the course provides an overview of the topic of clinical pharmacology.