1. AP Psychology Unit 4 Module 20
Hearing
AP Psychology
Unit 4 Module 20

2. HEARING
SOUND WAVES are bands of compressed air that are changed into neural impulses in the ear and sent to the brain for decoding. Detect air pressure changes.
Amplitude-> loudness
Frequency/Length-> pitch
OUR NORMAL HEARING :

3. PARTS OF THE EAR
Outer Ear: visible portion, channels waves into auditory canal
Middle Ear:
Inner Ear –
Semicircular Canals where sound is amplified here
Cochlea:

4. PARTS OF EAR CONTINUED
Basilar Membrane: sends motion from cochlea to adjacent nerve cells-> bending of hair cells
And then on to the .....
Eustachian tube: links the pharynx to the middle ear

5. FACTS ON HEARING LOSS
HEARING LOSS Usually is nerve related; results from accidents, age-related disorders, prolonged loud noises, or being born deaf SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS CONDUCTION HEARING LOSS

6. COCHLEAR IMPLANTS Electrical impulses are sent to the brain-> Sounds are converted to electrical signals
PROS
CONS
Most effective in young children
Opposed by deaf culture advocates; do not see deafness as a problem; learn sign language and other senses -
Get your Kleenex ready: GA9gEh1fLs

7. PLACE THEORY vs. FREQUENCY THEORY on pitch:
FACTS ON HEARING
PLACE THEORY vs. FREQUENCY THEORY on pitch:
Place theory->
Frequency Theory-> Brain reads pitch by monitoring frequency of neural impulses traveling up auditory nerve.
Sound waves strike one ear before the other then the brain parallel processes and computes the source.
VESTIBULAR SENSE relies on the semicircular canals in the inner ear to maintain the body balance (vertigo)