|
>> Detecting
Sound Waves
What does it mean to be hard of hearing? Is being hard of
hearing the same as being deaf? If you meet a hearing-impaired
person and he has trouble understanding you, should you speak
louder? In this activity you gain some experience with the
world of the hearing impaired. After you complete this activity,
review your text's presentation on the mechanics of the human
ear. How do the mechanical actions of sound waves get translated
into the neural impulse that we call a sound? What would happen
if some portion of that process were damaged? Would you necessarily
lose all hearing?
In fact, many hearing-impaired individuals can hear sounds,
but lack sensitivity to specific frequencies. Depending upon
the frequencies affected, this can create a serious problem
for speech comprehension. In this activity, you will experience
what speech sounds like to some hearing-impaired individuals.
Your task is to listen carefully to five speech segments.
The first segment is recorded normally. In subsequent segments,
specific frequency ranges are attenuated as they can be in
individual patients. Listen to each speech segment and then
write down what was said.
|
