Physics of the Ear
The ear is an extraordinary human organ that many people take for granted until it doesn’t function. It is the only device that allows the human to hear sounds in their environment. The ear is made up of many parts that distinguish various sounds through different means. The ear anatomy and physiology along with how sound waves are transmitted into meaningful sounds will help one understand how hearing loss occurs.
The ear is made up of three areas: the outer, middle, and inner ear. The outer ear is very important for collecting sound waves. It is made up of the pinna and the ear canal. The pinna, the actual physical outward appearance of the ear, receives sound waves and begins to funnel them into the ear canal. The ear canal is also known as the auditory meatus which is basically a convoluted tube. The next part of the ear, the tympanic membrane, is the beginning of the middle ear. The ear drum is crucial in the ability to hear. The tympanic membrane leads to a chain of small bones known as the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup). The stapes is ended with the footplate, a bone that looks like a stirrup. This area is known as the middle ear or the tympanic cavity. Located at the bottom of this area is the Eustachian tube which leads down to the throat. Its main purpose is to maintain the equalization of pressure between the tympanic cavity and the atmosphere as the air in the cavity is absorbed by the cells of its surface. The next area is the inner ear. This area contains many important structures to the hearing process. It begins with the oval window which is struck by the footplate of the Stapes. The cochlea is the area where most sound is transmitted from waves into impulses. W...
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... environment. In order to do that we must know the anatomy of our ear and how it functions. An important function is how the sound wave is transmitted into meaningful information through means of frequency, amplitude, and location. By understanding how the ear functions people are able to understand and prevent hearing loss.
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Littler, T.S. The Physics of the Ear, v3. NY: Macmillan Company. 1965. P- 1-9
Pickles, James O. An Intro to the Physiology of Hearing. NY: Academic Press. 1982. p- 264- 79
Sataloff, Joseph. Hearing Loss. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company. 1980 P- 67; 75; 175-77;
Hearing allows us to take in noises from the surrounding environment and gives us a sense of where things are in relation to us. All those little folds on the outside of the ear, called the tonotopic organization, make it so sound waves in the air are directed to the ear canal, where they can be further processed. Once in the ear, the sound waves vibrate the ear drum, which tell the ear exactly what frequency it is sensing. The vibration of the ear drum is not quite enough to send a signal to the brain, so it needs to be amplified, which is where the three tiny bones in the ear come into play. The malleus or hammer, incus or anvil, and stapes or stirrup amplify this sound and send it to the cochlea. The cochlea conducts the sound signal through a fluid with a higher inertia than air, so this is why the signal from the ear drum needs to be amplified. It is much harder to move the fluid than it is to move the air. The cochlea basically takes these physical vibrations and turns them into electrical impulses that can be sent to the brain. This is...
In today’s society, one of the most natural human traits is selfishness. David Foster Wallace incorporated this idea in his commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. Wallace aims to persuade his audience that, “the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” Although the intended audience of his speech is the graduates and staff, along with their friends and family, the piece has become quite popular since its delivery. Wallace offers, “nothing less than the truth” and captivates the listeners with his complete honestly. His personal tone lets the audience feel like they are a part of the conversation, rather than just receiving it. Wallace successfully conveys his message that society is blind to the world around them through the use of logic, humility and emotional appeals.
A symbol is “a specific word, idea, or object that may stand for ideas, values, persons, or ways of life” (Roberts1945). In the story The Lottery, the lottery “game” itself symbolizes a way of life. The lottery represents traditions that are passed down and followed blindly. In the story, the lottery has been an annual summer event in the village for as long as anyone can remember. During this event, the entire town gathers around and begins the ceremony. The family heads go forward and select a paper from the black box. Whoever receives the paper with the black mark will get stoned by the entire village. This is a very cruel, bizarre, and unusual tradition the citizens follow. It is a ritual that no one has the courage to go against because they have been practicing it for years. The result is an unfair murder of an innocent person by the hands of surrounding citizens. The lottery is an example of what can happen if traditions are not analyzed, questioned or changed by new generations.
Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention
Tanner, D.C. (2003). Chapter 6: Hearing Loss and Deafness. In Exploring communication disorders: A 21st century introduction through literature and media (2nd ed., p.192). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
The ritual in this story is a lottery where everyone in the town gathers to pick a piece of paper out of a black box. The black box that has been passed down from a long line of ancestors, it is symbolic because it represents death. One member from each family in the village comes up and picks a piece of paper from the black box. One of the pieces of papers is marked with a black dot and whichever family gets the paper with the black dot has to put the paper back. Then the whole family gets to pick again and whoever gets the black dot will be stoned to death as a sacrifice. In “The Lottery” death is symbolized using the color black; the black box, the black dot and the rituals of stoning one to death all represent death. Old man Warner would say “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. This quote symbolizes death, meaning that if someone is sacrificed, the crops will be plentiful. The towns’ people do not want to change the ways of their ancestors’ rituals, as they have been listening to the oldest man in the town talk about how it would change the ways of
Briefly stated, the outer ear (or pinna) 'catches' and amplifies sound by funneling it into the ear canal. Interestingly, the outer ear serves only to boost high frequency sound components (1). The resonance provided by the outer ear also serves in amplifying a higher range of frequencies corresponding to the top octave of the piano key board. The air pressure wave travels through the ear canal to ultimately reach and vibrate the timpanic membrane (i.e.-- the eardrum). At this particular juncture, the pressure wave energy of sound is translated into mechanical energy via the middle ear.
...step up to take care of their responsibilities, then a lot of young women wouldn’t be homeless. Also there’s not enough affordable daycares.
Spradley, T. S., & Spradley, J. P. (1978). Deaf Like Me. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
Hearing loss is a major global public health issue. Hearnet (2017) defines hearing loss as “a disability that occurs when one or more parts of the ear and/or the parts of the brain that make up the hearing pathway do not function normally” (para. 1). There are many different types of hearing loss, which can have multiple causes, giving each individual experiencing the issue a unique hearing loss case. These types include Auditory Processing Disorders, when the brain has problems processing sound information; Conductive Hearing Loss, a problem with the outer or middle ear which prevents sound making its way to the inner ear; and Sensorineural Hearing Loss, when the Cochlea or auditory nerve is damaged and cannot
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" symbols are used to enhance and stress the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can be exhibited in people in situations regarding tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just for the sake of keeping a routine. Three of the main symbols that Shirley uses in the story is the setting, black box, and the actual characters names. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the basis of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the culture of the village, and the culture of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage to not only a community, but the entire world. Symbolism plays a large role in "The Lottery" to set the theme of the story and make the reader question traditions.
The many causes of the homelessness issue has arisen from global conflict, unemployment increase, education tuition costs rising, and the increase of poverty. Homelessness is affecting all ages, ethnicities, and religions striking in both urban and rural communities. “Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars.”
The human ears are sensory organs that consist of the auditory system and the vestibular system. “It divides anatomically and functionally into three areas. The external ear, the middle ear, and the outer ear.” These regions are involved in hearing, but only the inner ear is deals with balance. The Vestibular System is responsible for our balance. It encompasses the semicircular canal system, three semicircular and the vestibule that detect rotational movements and sends it to the central nervous system. The auditory system is responsible for the sense of hearing. It encompasses the cochlea, three fluid filled sections that translates sound into electrical signals in the central nervous.
Although homelessness is widespread and almost next to the catastrophic global hunger problems, it can be brought under control and its effect reduced to a greater percentage. By simply tracking the root causes of low wages and the lack of affordable housing as well as improving other support systems like housing vouchers and health care, homelessness can be solved.
The larynx, known as the voice box, consists of an outer casing of nine cartilages that are connected to one another by muscles and ligaments. There are three unpaired cartilages and six paired. The unpaired cartilages include the thyroid, cricoid, and epiglottis. The thyroid cartilage is the largest and better known as the Adam’s apple. The cricoid cartilage is the most inferior cartilage of the larynx which forms the base of the larynx on which the other cartilages rest. Together, the thyroid and cricoid cartilages maintain an open passageway for air movement. The epiglottis and vestibular folds, or false vocal chords, prevent swallowed material from moving into the larynx. The paired cartilages, accounting for the remaining six, include the arytenoid (ladl...