| A | B |
|---|
| the sense or act of hearing | audition |
| the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example per second) | frequency |
| a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency | pitch |
| the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window | middle ear |
| a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses. | cochlea |
| the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs | inner ear |
| in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated | place theory |
| In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. | frequency theory |
| hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea. | conduction hearing loss |
| hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness. | sensorineural hearing loss |
| a device for converting sounds into electrical signal and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea | cochlear implant |
| the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. | gate-control theory |
| the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste. | sensory interaction |
| the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. | kinesthesis |
| the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance | vestibular sense |
