Ear training: The first stage in the Van Riper approach to articulation therapy. It involves identification, localization, stimulation, and discrimination of the target phoneme.
Eardrum membrane: The vibrating membrane that separates the outer ear from the middle ear. It is more correctly called the tympanic membrane.
Eardrum: See Tympanic membrane.
Early Expressive Language Delay (EELD): A characteristic of children who are late in their early language development and do not outgrow the delay but continue to have problems.
Ebonics: A dialect that is associated generally with Black Americans. Also called African American English.
Echolalia: An immediate imitation of another speaker. Among children with autism, it may represent the storage and production of unanalyzed whole units of language.
Ectoderm: The outermost of the three primary embryonic germ layers.
Edema: Swelling due to an accumulation of fluid.
Effective masking (EM): The minimum amount of noise required just to mask out a signal (under the same earphone) at a given hearing level. For example, 40 dB EM will just mask out a 40 dB HL signal.
Efferent: Nerves that carry impulses from the brain toward the periphery.
Efficiency: The percentage of time that a test correctly identifies a site of lesion and correctly eliminates an anatomical area as the site of lesion.
Elasticity: The ability of a mass to return to its natural shape.
Electrocochleography (ECoG): Response to sound in the form of electrical potentials that occur within the first few milliseconds after signal presentation. The responses that arise from the cochlea are small in amplitude and must be summed on a computer after a number of presentations of clicks or tone pips.
Electrodermal audiometry (EDA): A procedure for testing hearing using an auditory signal as a conditioned stimulus and an electric shock as an unconditioned stimulus.
Electroencephalograph (EEG): A tracing showing changes in the electrical potentials in the brain.
Electrolarynx: Battery-powered device that sets air in the vocal tract into vibration.
Electronic voltmeter: A device for measuring differences in decibels and voltages.
Electronystagmograph (ENG): A device used to monitor electrically the amount of nystagmus occurring spontaneously or from vestibular stimulation.
Electrophysiological testing: An audiological testing procedure that uses computerized equipment to measure involuntary responses to sound within the auditory nervous system. The most common of these procedures is auditory brain stem evoked response (ABER) audiometry.
Embolism: A blood clot, fatty materials, or an air bubble that may travel through the circulatory system until it blocks the flow of blood in a small artery. If it travels to the brain, it may cause a stroke.
Embryological period: The third week through the eighth week of gestation.
Endogenous: Produced or originating within the organism.
Endolymph: The fluid contained within the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear in both the auditory and vestibular portions.
Endoscope: A lens coupled with a light source used for viewing internal bodily structures, including the vocal folds.
Entoderm: The innermost of the three primary embryonic germ layers.
Epiglottis: Leaf-shaped cartilage attached to the thyroid cartilage that prevents food from entering the trachea during swallowing.
Episodic aphonia: Uncontrolled and unpredictable occasional loss of voice.
Epitympanic recess: That part of the middle ear above the upper level of the tympanic membrane. Also called the attic of the middle ear.
Equivalent input noise level: The inherent noise level within a hearing aid with the input signal turned off and the hearing aid set at the reference test gain level. In articulation, a deviant production of a phoneme.
Equivalent volume: A method of approximating the compliance component of impedance; the volume (in cm3) with a physical property equivalent to a similar property of the middle ear.
Erg (e): A unit of work. One erg results when 1 dyne force displaces an object by 1 centimeter.
Error sound discrimination: Distinguishing between the target phoneme and an incorrect production.
Esophageal atresia: The absence of a normal open passageway from the esophagus to the stomach.
Esophageal speech: Speech that is produced by using burping as a substitute for the laryngeal voice.
Esophagostomy: A surgical hole in the esophagus through which a feeding tube may be inserted.
Etiology: Cause or origin of a problem; also the study of cause.
Eustachian tube or auditory tube: The tube that connects the middle ear space with the upper portion of the pharynx and provides a passageway for air to move in and out, maintaining equality of air pressure on either side of the eardrum and ensuring its maximum mobility. It is lined with mucous membrane.
Evoked otoacoustic emission (EOAE): A measurable echo produced by the cochlea in response to signals presented to the ear.
Examination of the peripheral speech mechanism: Sometimes called oral peripheral exam; assessment of the structure and function of the visible speech system.
Exogenous: Produced or originating outside the organism.
Exostoses: Projections for the surfaces of bone, as the external auditory canal, which are usually covered with cartilage.
Expansion: The supplying of grammatical forms and/or additional words to complete a child's utterance or make it more syntactically correct. For example,
Child: Baby cry.
Adult: Yes, the baby is crying.
Explicit: Clearly defined.
Exponent: A logarithm or power to which a number may be raised.
Extension: A conversational reply that adds information beyond the child's assumed meaning. For example,
Child: Baby cry.
Adult: Yes, the baby is hungry.
External auditory canal (EAC): The channel in the external ear from the concha of the auricle to the tympanic membrane.
External auditory meatus or ear canal: Tubular structure that continues the funneling action of the pinna to increase the intensity of the sound waves and to resonate a specific range of middle to high frequencies.
External error sound discrimination: Perceiving differences in the production of the target phoneme in another person's speech.
External intercostal muscles: Eleven pairs of muscles between the ribs that assist in inhalation.
External oblique muscle: Abdominal muscle that assists in forced exhalation.
External otitis: Infection of the outer ear. Also called otitis externa.
Extra-axial: Outside the brainstem.
Extrapyramidal tract: The portion of the nervous system involving the brain stem, cerebellum, and basal nuclei, complementing the pyramidal tract by smoothing and coordinating movement.
Extrinsic muscles (laryngeal): Muscles that have one point of attachment on the larynx and the other point of attachment on a structure external to the larynx.
Facial nerve: The VIIth cranial nerve. It innervates the muscles of the face and the stapedius muscle.
Failure to thrive: The absence of healthy growth and development.
Fallopian canal: A bony channel, on the medial wall of the middle ear, through which the facial nerve passes. It is covered with mucous membrane.
False negative response: The failure of patients to respond during a hearing test when they have, in fact, heard the stimulus.
False negative: When an individual passes a screening test but in fact has a problem. Also known as Type II error.
False positive response: Response from a subject when no stimulus has been presented, or the stimulus is below threshold.
False positive: When an individual fails a test and is identified as having a disorder, but in fact has no problem. Also known as Type I error.
False ribs: Three pairs of ribs attached indirectly to the sternum.
Fascia: Layers of tissue that form the sheaths of muscles.
FEES: See Fiber-optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing.
Fenestration: An early operation designed to correct hearing loss from otosclerosis. A new window is created in the lateral balance canal of the inner ear, and the ossicular chain is bypassed.
Fetal alcohol syndrome: Overuse of alcohol during pregnancy, which severely impairs the neurological and physical development of the fetus, resulting in growth deficiencies, craniofacial disorders, central nervous system dysfunction, limited cognitive development, and, in some cases, sensorineural hearing loss.
Fiber-optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES): A laryngoscopic technique for viewing swallowing.
Figurative language: Nonliteral phrases consisting of idioms, metaphors, similes, and proverbs.
Filler: Utterances such as "er," "um," and "you know" that are used within productions. Sometimes characteristic of dysfluent speech and/or stuttering.
Fissure: Little valleys within the wrinkled cortex.
Fistula: An abnormal opening, as by incomplete closure of a wound, that allows fluid to leak out.
Flaccid dysarthria: Speech disorder caused by weak, soft, flabby muscle tone, called hypotonia. May result in hypernasality, breathiness, and imprecise articulation.
Floating ribs: Lowest two pairs of ribs that have no anterior attachment to the sternum.
Fluency: Smoothness of rhythm and rate.
Fluent aphasia: Speech characterized by word substitutions, neologisms, and often verbose verbal output. Also called Wernicke's aphasia.
Fluent: Speech that is relatively smooth and free of disruptions.
FM assistive listening device: Equipment that is used to overcome the adverse effects of background noise, distance, and poor room acoustics by amplifying certain frequencies.
Follow-up testing: Assessment after dismissal from therapy to ensure that skills have been maintained.
Footplate: The base of the stapes, which occupies the oval window.
Force: The impetus required to institute or alter the velocity of a body.
Forced vibration: The vibration of a mass controlled and maintained by an external impetus.
Form: The perceivable aspect of language.
Formant: A peak of energy in the spectrum of a vowel sound.
Fourier analysis: The mathematical breakdown of any complex wave into its component parts, consisting of simple sinusoids of different frequencies.
Free field: An acoustic environment with no reverberating surfaces.
Free morpheme: The portion of a word that can stand alone and designate meaning; root morpheme.
Free vibration: The vibration of a mass independent of any external force.
Frequency distortion: An inexact reproduction of the frequencies in a sound wave.
Frequency response: The frequency range of amplification (as in a hearing aid), expressed in hertz, from the lowest to the highest frequency amplified.
Frequency theory of hearing: The explanation for pitch perception based on the frequency of neural impulses in the auditory nerve.
Frequency: The number of complete oscillations of a vibrating body per unit of time; perceived as the pitch of the sound. In acoustics the unit of measurements is cycles per second (cps) or hertz (Hz).
Fricative: A consonant phoneme that is produced by exhaling air through a narrow passageway.
Fronting: A phonological process in which a front phoneme is produced for a back one; for example, /t/ is produced for /k/.
Frontonasal process: Embryonic structure that develops into the nasomedial processes and the lateral nasal processes during the fifth week of gestation.
Functional disorder: A disorder with no known organic cause; perhaps psychogenic or learned.
Functional gain: The difference in decibels between unaided and aided thresholds of hearing.
Functional hearing loss: See Nonorganic hearing loss.
Fundamental frequency: The lowest frequency of vibration in a complex wave.
Furunculosis: Infection of hair follicles, as in the external auditory canal.
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER): Movement of food or acid from the stomach back into the esophagus.
Gastrostomy: A surgical opening through the abdomen into the stomach through which a feeding tube may be placed.
Genderlect: Variations in language associated with males or females; gender-based dialect.
Gene: The unit of heredity, composed of a sequence of DNA, that is located in a specific position on a chromosome.
Generalization: The extending of a skill learned in a clinical setting to other "natural" environments; carryover or transference.
Generative: Capable of being freshly created; refers to the infinite number of sentences that can be created through the applicaiton of grammatical rules.
Genotype: The genetic constitution of an individual.
Glide: Phonemes in which the articulatory posture changes from consonant to vowel.
Global or mixed aphasia: A profound language impairment in all modalities as a result of brain damage.
Globus pallidus: A portion of the basal nuclei of the brain.
Glossectomy: The surgical removal of the tongue.
Glottal stop: A compensatory behavior where a stoppage of air occurs at the level of the glottis rather than in the oral cavity.
Glottal: Relating to, or produced in or by the glottis.
Glottis: The space between the vocal folds.
Glycerol test: A test for Méniére disease in which pure-tone thresholds and word-recognition scores are measured before, and several hours after, a patient ingests concentrated glucose and water. Improvements in threshold and word recognition suggest that the diuretic action of the glucose solution results in decreased endolymphatic pressure, making the test positive for Méniére disease.
Gradient: The width of a tympanogram, defined as a horizontal line extending 50 daPa either side of a line drawn vertically down from the peak pressure point, divided by the height of the peak pressure point.
Grammar: The rules of a language.
Granuloma: A lesion due to injury or infection on the vocal folds. It may be caused by intubation of the larynx.
Ground electrode: The third electrode used in testing auditory evoked potentials to ground subjects so that their bodies cannot serve as an antenna.
Gyri: Little hills within the wrinkled cortex.
