My day started with a physiology practical at 9am. Since it was held in a not so familiar building, I asked Cass to wait for me at the Anatomy building's entrance which is supposedly next to the therapies building where the prac was held. On my way to uni, I met up with Val who was going to the prac as well. We walked together and then waited for Cass's and Hazzie's arrival before going into the building together. The prac was actually held at the audiology clinic on the 7th floor. We were divided into different groups and put into different rooms. Val and I were in the same group and I saw a couple of my P.B.L mates in it as well. The main aim of the practical is to understand the different types of hearing tests usually conducted. For every 15 mins we were rotated into different rooms (6 altogether), containing different machines and equipments for different hearing tests. The 6 types of hearing tests introduced to us include: Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA), Speech Audiometry, Tympanometry, Auditory Brain Stem Response (ABR), Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) and Otoscopy.
The Pure Tone Audiometry is usually used in infants (2-3 years of age). The tutor stated that human hearing ranges from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. However, the hearing range between 125 Hz to 8,000 Hz is normally tested since that is the range where speech is usually is. Normal human speech is at 60 decibels (dB), which is the intensity of sound which we perceive as loudness. Meanwhile, the Speech Audiometry is used to test the accuracy of the PTA. Tympanometry is used in looking at the middle ear function, eg. by checking if any perforations in the ear drum are present. The ABR is used to get estimates of hearing threshold and measure the electrical activity after sound is produced. Any problems would indicate dysfuntion in lower lobe, mid brain or the higher centres of the brain. The OAE is used to measure the sounds produced by the cochlea in response to a stimulus. This is useful for small children, the mentally disabled and for people faking hearing loss for compensation purposes. Otoscopy is used to examine the tympanic membrane or the ear drum. For this, we got the opportunity to examine each other's tympanic membrane, which should normally appear semi-transparent and pearly white.
A normal tympanic membrane or ear drum
I was actually afraid to insert the otoscope too deeply into Val's ears. The tutor told us that there is actually no definite depth that we have to go, it's just a matter of estimation.. hmm.. but at long last, I managed to look at the tympanic membrane :) Overall, it's a fun prac and I've enjoyed it. (sorry to bore you with all this geek talk, haha)
After the prac, I went to the printing shop with Val then we met up with Hazzie at the main refractory for lunch. Ate an egg sandwich (again!) and some cookies I brought from home. We still had 40 minutes to kill, so we decided to go to the Hawken library main2 internet. The afternoon was filled with lectures from 1-4pm. Sat with Hazzie, Val, Sa'dy, Nabnab, Syimsyim and Yunyun. The first 2 lectures nda ku brapa concentrate, buringku sal topicsnya on antibacterial therapy, bla bla bla... The last prac was on paediatrics: milestones and assessments. The lecture is quite interesting.. talking about the different milestones occuring starting from birth towards adolescence.. At birth, the baby would have poor head control as the brain will continue to grow towards 80% of its adult size for the next 2 years. The infant will cry, sometimes a lot. I'm sure my mom would agree to that last statement as she never fail to remind me what a crybaby I was when I was an infant, always waking up the whole household in the middle of the night, hahaha.. Sorry ma! hehe.. There are lots and lots of milestones apparently, which I'm not going to delve much into as that would take up lots and lots of pages! Malas tah ku, hehe..
After the lecture, headed back home with yunyun and nabnab. Singgah ku kajap arah restoran thai yg bejual minuman seringgit atu, membali pepsi 3 tin. We cooked chicken kurma and sotong kicap for dinner tonight. Then entertain diri sendiri sampai ani, haha..
Bah, have a great weekend people!
Gd night :)
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