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ear

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ear ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium. The human ear consists of outer, middle, and inner parts. The outer ear is the visible portion; it includes the skin-covered flap of cartilage known ...

civil commitment

(Encyclopedia)civil commitment or involuntary commitment, process by which a court determines whether or not to order an individual to receive treatment or care or be confined. A person may be committed after a hea...

absolute pitch

(Encyclopedia)absolute pitch, the position of a tone in the musical scale determined according to its number of vibrations per second, irrespective of other tones. The term also denotes the capacity to identify any...

Ménière's disease

(Encyclopedia)Ménière's disease mən-yĕrzˈ [key], disorder of the inner ear characterized by recurrent vertigo combined with hearing loss and tinnitus (a ringing sensation). It was first described by the French...

Festus, Porcius

(Encyclopedia)Festus, Porcius pôrˈshəs [key], fl a.d. 60, Roman procurator of Judaea (a.d. 60–a.d. 62). He succeeded Antonius Felix. He was just in his administration of the province. The Acts of the Apostles ...

noise pollution

(Encyclopedia)noise pollution, human-created noise harmful to health or welfare. Transportation vehicles are the worst offenders, with aircraft, railroad stock, trucks, buses, automobiles, and motorcycles all produ...

Alamán, Lucas

(Encyclopedia)Alamán, Lucas lo͞oˈkäs älämänˈ [key], 1792–1853, Mexican historian and statesman. As deputy to the Spanish Cortes, he failed to win a hearing for the insurgents in Mexico. Returning to Mexic...

Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th earl of, 1513–37, Irish nobleman, called Silken Thomas. When his father, the 9th earl and lord deputy of Ireland, was summoned to London on charges of maladministrat...

cerebral palsy

(Encyclopedia)cerebral palsy sərēˈbrəl pôlˈzē [key], disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. Althou...

learning disabilities

(Encyclopedia)learning disabilities, in education, any of various disorders involved in understanding or using spoken or written language, including difficulties in listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, s...