Mechanics Of Hearing

This book extends our understanding of the mechanics and biophysics of hearing by bringing together the latest research on the topic by experts in cell and molecular biology, physiology, physics, engineering and mathematics. It contains the proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on the Mechanics of Hearing that was held at Keele University in the United Kingdom at the end of July, 2008. Topics for discussion included theoretical and experimental research at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. Separate sections of the book deal with: the transmission of sound energy to and from the inner ear, and wave propagation within the inner ear; the enhancement of stimulus wave motion that occurs in the inner ear; new measurement techniques that will underpin future innovative studies; the micro-mechanics of the basilar and tectorial membranes and the organ of Corti; cochlear dynamics; sensory hair cells and electromechanical transduction; and sensory hair-bundles and mechano-electrical transduction. The book concludes with the transcript of an open discussion session between the participants of the workshop, highlighting areas of uncertainty and controversy in the field, and pointing the way to the solutions to be sought in future research. This book reviews and synthesizes current concepts and challenges in the biophysics of hearing, and will be an invaluable guide to researchers and students in all branches of auditory science.

IUTAM/ICA Symposium, Delft, July 1983

Proceedings of a workshop on the physics and biophysics of hearing that brought together experimenters and modelers working on all aspects of audition. Topics covered include: cochlear mechanical measurements, cochlear models, mechanicals and biophysics of hair cells, efferent control, and ultrastructure.

This proceedings volume contains papers presented during the meeting on Diversity in Auditory Mechanics by leading neurobiologists, biophysicists and mathematicians interested in auditory periphery.

Millions of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. The Social Security Administration (SSA) operates programs that provide cash disability benefits to people with permanent impairments like hearing loss, if they can show that their impairments meet stringent SSA criteria and their earnings are below an SSA threshold. The National Research Council convened an expert committee at the request of the SSA to study the issues related to disability determination for people with hearing loss. This volume is the product of that study. Hearing Loss: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits reviews current knowledge about hearing loss and its measurement and treatment, and provides an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current processes and criteria. It recommends changes to strengthen the disability determination process and ensure its reliability and fairness. The book addresses criteria for selection of pure tone and speech tests, guidelines for test administration, testing of hearing in noise, special issues related to testing children, and the difficulty of predicting work capacity from clinical hearing test results. It should be useful to audiologists, otolaryngologists, disability advocates, and others who are concerned with people who have hearing loss.

The articles in this volume are the results of discussions among biophysicists, neurobiologists and mathematicians with research interests in auditory mechanics and signal processing. The topics covered include: mechanics and models of hearing organs; auditory periphery and its models; middle ear; traveling wave and cochlear amplifier; emissions; outer hair cell; electromotility; central auditory processing; auditory nerve responses; and hearing in non-mammals. Contents:The Middle EarThe Cochlea (Measurement)The Cochlea (Model)The Outer Hair CellElectromotilityEmissionsAuditory Nerve ResponsesCentral Auditory ProcessingHearing in Non-Mammals Readership: Researchers and graduate students in ENT, neuroscience, biophysics and biomedical engineering. Keywords:

The field of cochlear mechanics has received an increasing interest over the last few decades. In the majority of these studies the researchers use linear systems analysis or linear approximations of the nonlinear (NL) systems. Even though it has been clear that the intact cochlea operates nonlinearly, lack of tools for proper nonlinear analysis, and widely available tools for linear analysis still lead to inefficient and possibly incorrect interpretation of the biophysics of the cochlea. An example is the presumption that a change in cochlear stiffness at hair cell level must account for the observed change in tuning (or frequency mapping) due to prestin application. Hypotheses like this need to be addressed in a tutorial that is lucid enough to analyze and explain basic differences. Cochlear Mechanics presents a useful and mathematically justified/justifiable approach in the main part of the text, an approach that will be elucidated with clear examples. The book will be useful to scientists in auditory neuroscience, as well as graduate students in biophysics/biomedical engineering.

Great advances have been made in understanding hearing in recent years. In particular, the mechanical function of the cochlea has become the focus of intense interest. This started in one direction, with the discovery of otoacoustic emissions in 1978, which required active mechanical amplification processes, as first postulated by Gold in 1948. Direct evidence for the role of this mechanism in sharpening-up the otherwise poor, basilar membrane tuning properties, was provided in 1982; and in 1983, motility was shown in outer hair cells. In parallel, an immense amount of work has been done on the electrophysiology of hair cells, following the first intracellular recordings in 1977. Over a longer time scale, models of basilar membrane motion have been developed and refined, and recently much effort has been put into incorporating active mechanisms and non-linear processes. It seemed an opportune time to bring together the leading workers in these various areas, to take stock of the whole field and to stimulate further progress. This book represents the proceedings of a NATO ARW on the Mechanics of Hearing held at the University of Keele, 3-8 July, 1988. The conception of the meeting owes much to earlier meetings held in Boston in 1985 (Peripheral Auditory Mechallisms, Eds. J.B. Allen, J.L.