2026 COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
● Unit of measurement for intensity (loudness). Answer: Decibel (dB)
● Risk of damage from noise. Answer: How loud (intensity) and how
long (duration)
● Steady-state or continuous noise, e.g. generator. Answer: Lasts 1
second or longer
● Impulse or Impact noise, e.g. gunfire or nail gun. Answer: Lasts less
than one second
● Parts of the outer ear. Answer: Pinna and external auditory canal
● Parts of the middle ear. Answer: Tympanic membrane, ossicles,
eustachian tube
● Eustachian tube (auditory tube). Answer: Tube connecting the middle
ear to the pharynx and equalizes middle ear space with atmospheric
pressure
, ● Conductive HL occurs here. Answer: Outer or middle ear
● Sensorineural hearing loss. Answer: Hearing loss resulting from
damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve
● Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Answer: Condition caused by the
destruction of hair cells in the inner ear, the organs responsible for
hearing, as a result of sounds that are "too long, too loud, or too close"; a
sensorineural hearing loss
● Mixed hearing loss. Answer: Combination of conductive and
sensorineural types in the same ear
● Middle ear bones (ossicles). Answer: Malleus (hammer), incus (anvil),
stapes (stirrup)
● Possible early symptoms/signs of noise induced hearing loss. Answer:
Tinnitus; difficulty understanding in presence of background noise; read
visual cues
● Auditory effects of noise. Answer: NIHL; tinnitus; hyperacusis
● Non-auditory effects of noise. Answer: annoyance