BSc Healthcare Science (Audiology)

This course unit will provide students with a background of the concepts of physics and measurement including the basics of acoustics relevant to audiology, physical concepts of mechanical systems

The unit aims to:

• Provide basic knowledge and understanding of the background principles of physics and measurement relevant to neurosensory sciences, and audiology in particular.

Note, the order in which these are delivered may vary and this list does not necessarily indicate individual lecture topics.

• Introduction to Sound and Acoustics (inc. Basics of simple and complex sounds; introduction to speech production and acoustics and acoustic cues for speech identification; room acoustics and hearing aid acoustics)
• Introduction to Physical concepts and mechanical systems (inc. forces and motion; basic physical laws and physical quantities; examples of biomechanical structures, vestibular system, forces in the auditory system)
• Signals and systems (including basic principles of filters, gain, signal-noise ratio)
• Basic principles behind biomedical measurement and imaging techniques (inc. Examples of neurophysiological and audiological measurements, electromagnetic and nuclear radiation; X-ray; PET; and MRI imaging)
• Revision Session 

Lectures/Tutorial sessions are compulsory, and it is expected that you spend 3-5hr using the online material in preparation for each session.

• Lecture/Tutorial sessions – Face-to-face (22 weeks x 1.5hr)
• Online pre-reading material – weekly preparation for face-to-face (approx. 22 weeks x 4hr)

The following are suggested/estimated hours of additional work:

• Directed Reading – approx. 30hr total
• Assessment preparation and revision – variable (est. 50hrs)

• Describe the basic properties of different acoustic signals and be able to explain concepts such as amplitude, frequency, phase, waveforms, spectra and spectrograms and decibels
• Describe the basic acoustic properties of speech signals and how different sounds are produced
• Explain the basic differences between linear and nonlinear systems (using audiology and hearing science examples)
• Describe the basic properties of sound and light including their similarities and differences in transmission
• Describe basic aspects of electromagnetic and nuclear radiation and how these can be used in medical imaging (inc. X-ray, PET and MRI)
• Describe the basic physical principles that underly a range of assessment techniques in audiology

• Demonstrate critical thinking and analysis
• Demonstrate evaluative and interpretive skills
• Demonstrate the ability to think critically and question received information

• Effectively organise notes and thoughts that will allow you to process a range of different types of information available in this course unit
• Effectively use online pre-reading material to prepare for face-to-face sessions

• Assimilate information from a variety of resources
• Search, Select and extract appropriate information from appropriate academic resources

Formative MCQ quizzes (online or in session) 

MCQ Examination (on-campus 1-1.5hr) - 100%

Formative assessment – online MCQ assessments with revision sessions.

Sound and Acoustics

• Speaks, C.E. (2018) Introduction to Sound. (4th Ed.) Plural Publishing
• Sahley, T.L. & Musiek, F.E. (2015) Basic Fundamentals in Hearing Science. Plural Publishing
• Raphael, LJ., Borden, GJ. And Harris. KS (2011) Speech Science Primer (6th Ed) Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Physics, Imaging and related topics

• Franklin, K. et al (2010) Introduction to Biological Physics for the Health and Life Sciences. Wiley
• Davidovits, P. (2008) Physics and Biology in Biology and Medicine (3rd Ed.) Academic Press
• Barker, R.A. and Barasi, S. (2008) Neuroscience at a Glance (3rd Ed.) Wiley-Blackwell

Audiology and Hearing Science topics

• Gelfand, S.A. (2017) Hearing: an introduction to psychological and physiological acoustics. 6th Edition. New York, Dekker
• Gelfand, S.A. (2016) Essentials of Audiology. 4th Edition New York, Dekker

For Information and advice on Link2Lists reading list software, see:  

• http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/informationandadviceonlink2listsreadinglistsoftware/