Date | May 2019 | Marks available | 3 | Reference code | 19M.3.SL.TZ2.6 |
Level | Standard level | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | Time zone 2 |
Command term | Describe | Question number | 6 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Hearing loss can range from mild to severe. Cochlear implants have been used in those with profound hearing loss such as children who are born deaf. The image shows a cross section of the ear with a cochlear implant.
[Source: NIDCD (www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/cochlear-implants)]
Identify the parts of the ear labelled X and Y.
X:
Y:
Describe the use of cochlear implants in deaf patients.
Markscheme
X: semicircular canals ✔
Y: eardrum/tympanic membrane ✔
a. sound picked up by microphone relayed electronically to speech processor ✔
b. speech processor filters background noise/selects only speech frequencies ✔
c. «radio» signal from transmitter to receiver/stimulator which converts it to electric signal ✔
d. «electrical impulses» sent to electrode «array» in cochlea
OR
cochlear implant bypasses the hair cells in the cochlea ✔
e. electrode/electrical signal stimulates auditory nerve «fibers in cochlea» ✔
f. signals «generated by implant» sent to brain «which recognizes signals as sound» ✔
OWTTE
Examiners report
Most candidates could identify the labelled parts of the ear.
Although many had a reasonable idea about how cochlear implants function, they were unable to describe this in sufficient detail. Many students talked about amplifying sound, not changing the sound into electric signals.