Navigating hearing loss can be complex. Decode some of the more common phrases so you can be in the know.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Ruth Reisman Last Updated August 22, 2024Medically reviewed by
Close up of an elderly woman‘s ear
Dealing with hearing loss or related disorders can be confusing as either a patient or a caregiver. Even as adults, we may struggle to understand the complexities and concepts an audiologist discusses with us, especially if we don’t understand audiology terminology.
This can be particularly true for conditions, disorders, and treatment options for hearing loss.
audiologists.org has put together a glossary of audiology terminology to help you better understand audiologists, speech pathologists, and other hearing professionals when they are diagnosing or explaining hearing loss, auditory disorders, and treatment options.
This is the part of the ear that is visible with the naked eye or simple medical tools. It mostly consists of the ear lobe, ear canal, and ear drum. This is the part of the ear routinely checked during office visits.
The middle ear also includes the ear drum and three small bones, also known as the ossicles. These essential parts of the ear send movement inward to the inner ear.
The innermost part of the ear, this section is made up of the cochlea, canals that help with balance, and nerves that carry information to the brain.
Part of the inner ear, the labyrinth is an organ that helps with balance. It consists of three small canals and the vestibule, which connects the labyrinth and cochlea.
A normal response to sound, otoacoustic emissions occur when hair cells in the inner ear vibrate in response to sound. This in turn produces a very soft sound that echoes back. With mild or severe hearing loss, your ears will not produce any otoacoustic emissions, or OAEs.
Also called the ear drum, this part of the ear separates the inner and outer ear. When sound reaches the eardrum, it causes the eardrum to vibrate and send those vibrations further into the ear.
This snail-shaped structure is located in the inner ear and houses the hearing organ.
Part of the cochlea, this structure detects higher frequency sounds, like nails on a chalkboard or whistles, and sends those signals to the brain.
This occurs when sounds cannot move from the outer ear to the middle ear. Causes might include an ear infection, fluid in the middle ear, an issue with the eardrum, or simply a significant buildup of wax.
This type of hearing loss occurs when the inner ear becomes damaged or adversely impacted in some way. While this can be caused by loud noises or head trauma, a genetic predisposition or deformity within the ear can also cause hearing loss, along with illness or some drugs.
This occurs when there are elements of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. Essentially, the outer hear cannot send sound to the inner ear properly, and the inner ear cannot process the sound and send it to the brain.
This term is used to describe when either both ears or both sides of the head are involved in hearing loss.
This is a term audiologists may use to describe how much usable hearing a patient has measured against the hearing that was lost.
Also called an auditory evoked potential (AEP), this is a type of hearing test used to determine the health of your inner ear and the auditory nerve that carries information to the brain.
Surgically implanted into the cochlea, cochlear implants turn sound waves into electrical impulses and then send them to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear altogether.
The earmold, a small bud that goes in the ear canal, is connected to the bulk of the hearing aid, which is located above or behind the ear.
This newer type of hearing aid has a more inconspicuous design with a thinner tubing and the electronics placed lower behind the ear.
A smaller hearing aid that sits within the pinna and ear canal. These hearing aids are still visible to the naked eye, but come in a variety of colors designed to make them blend in with skintone.
These hearing aids fill up a portion of both the ear canal and bowl of the outer ear, making them smaller and more subtle than ITE hearing aids.
Designed for someone who has hearing loss in one, but not both ears, these hearing aids work to provide equal residual hearing to the wearer.
This type of hearing aid amplifies sound regardless of the pitch. Sound can be amplified by percentage, but the device amplifies by the same amount regardless of the signal or what other sounds are simultaneously present. In other words, it doesn’t filter sound.
The receiver is the speaker inside the hearing aid that picks up and provides sound to the wearer.
Often heard in online meetings or over other speaker devices, feedback is the result of a device picking up its own output and re-amplifying the sound. This can occur with hearing aids as well.
Some newer hearing aids feature a feedback suppressor designed to reduce feedback for the wearer.
Audiologists and healthcare professionals create an impression of the concha and ear canal to produce a custom fit hearing aid designed to fit the patient’s ear property, improving comfort and performance.
Designed to be used with hearing aid-compatible devices, the t-switch allows wearers to pick up the magnetic field on devices, like a broadcast.
