19
votes
Accepted
If tinnitus is, in many cases, caused by damaged ear hair cells, couldn't it be solved by a mini cochlear implant that sends a constant signal?
Short answer
You are right, with a few caveats.
Background
Most tinnitus cases are caused by sensorineural hearing loss, as you rightfully indicate, namely due to a loss of hair cells in the cochlea. ...
- 52.3k
12
votes
Accepted
How does pressure travel through the cochlea exactly?
Short answer
The pressure wave through the scala vestibuli drives the basilar membrane response (BM). Your option (1) is correct, (2) is not. The pressure not really permeates or penetrates Reissner's ...
- 52.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Where in the cochlea are frequencies below 200 Hz detected?
The answer is two fold, each related to the two ways pitch is encoded in the inner ear. These two mechanisms are place coding and rate coding.
Regarding place-pitch; given that there are hair cells ...
- 52.3k
5
votes
Accepted
How far does eardrum move?
Tympanic displacement measurement (TMD) is a well studied field using hi-tech tools (i.e. stroboscopic holography), and complex units:
Vm = volume displacement in nl nanoLiters.
μm/pa (UDTF) = Linear ...
- 10.3k
5
votes
Accepted
What causes "ear rumbling"?
I'm able to create rumbling in my ears at will. Unlike the poster of the video, I don't need to yawn to do so; I can do it without my face appearing to move. I actually discovered this alongside ...
- 787
4
votes
Short dated spontaneous ringing in ear
Spontaneous ringing is caused by When the outer hair cells put energy back into the vibration, which is known as positive feedback. The process is meant to amplify very quiet sounds more so than loud ...
- 2,603
4
votes
Accepted
What is the course of inter auricular line?
Up front - I have never heard of this term and I could not find information on the interauricular line. The only thing I was able to dig up was the term auricular line, which is (Fig. 1):
[The] [l]...
- 52.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Cartilage regeneration
The reason that cartilage rarely is able to regenerate is that it is poorly vascularized and innervated. It doesn't have its own blood supply to deliver signaling molecules that promote regeneration ...
- 1,309
4
votes
How much does hearing deteriorate with age?
Hearing sensitivity deteriorates with age, which is called age-related hearing loss, or presbyacusis. Presbyacusis is characterized by elevated hearing thresholds. Especially the high frequencies are ...
- 52.3k
4
votes
Accepted
What happens when I pop my ears?
The outer ear canal ends at the eardrum, and beyond that is the middle ear. The middle ear is normally a closed chamber, but can be connected to the outside world by flexing the jaw or muscles ...
- 8,984
4
votes
Evolution - The ability to control ear muscles
Yes, humans have lost the ability to move their ears toward sounds like many other animals such as cats and rabbits.
It is thought that our ancestors lost the ability to move their ears around 30 ...
- 1,306
3
votes
What causes "ear rumbling"?
The rumbling is caused by two middle ear muscles. These muscles are connected to ear drum and staples, if they are activated, they make it harder for incoming air soundwave to push the eardrum, they ...
- 223
3
votes
Accepted
How we can localize sound vertically (up-down) and front-to-back?
Localization along the azimuth (horizontal left-right axis) is mediated by various processes: 1) First, there is the head shadow effect, which means that sounds from the left reach the right ear (AD) ...
- 52.3k
3
votes
Accepted
Ear ossicles a part of Skull?
The justification is simple.
The bones of the ear [ear ossicles] do not articulate with any other bone of the skull hence it is not considered as a part of the skull, similar is the case with the ...
3
votes
In what range do humans generally interpret sound best?
I work on voice recognition too. Yes, very brilliant query about sound perception that I can clarify and not answer completely. Most of the text belongs to DSP SE forum, i.e. Voice rec, MFCC, filter, ...
- 10.3k
3
votes
Accepted
How large are the inner ear hairs?
Those are just ordinary hairs growing in your ear, like the kind you find in your nose and, if you are fortunate, on the top of your head. The "hair cells" of the inner ear aren't really "hairs" at ...
- 43k
3
votes
Why do humans hear better between 2kHz and 5kHz?
You may never see this, but I also had this question - I think this may be a fun take.
The 2-5kHz range is associated with the third and fourth formants of the human voice, and these formants are used ...
3
votes
Accepted
Why does the direction of endolymph flow oppose direction of body motion?
The endolymph inside the ear, like any kind of matter, has mass and so is subject to inertia. This means any change in speed and direction will be resisted. The ear and semicircular canals ...
- 8,984
3
votes
How we can localize sound vertically (up-down) and front-to-back?
The Wikipedia article is quite good.
In brief, as you state, the wave phase can be used only to localise sounds in the plane of the ears. To have an approximation of the position in the median plane (...
- 1,127
3
votes
Are our ears more sensitive to low or high pitched sounds?
Short answer
Our ears are most sensitive to the mid-frequencies.
Background
There are different ways of assessing sound level. The physical one simply determines the physical sound pressure level (...
- 52.3k
3
votes
Distribution of hearing loss
Short answer
Noise-induced hearing loss affects primarily the mid-frequencies, because the inner ear is most sensitive to these frequencies.
Background
Noise-induced hearing loss occurs typically in ...
- 52.3k
3
votes
Where in the cochlea are frequencies below 200 Hz detected?
A figure like this is likely representing the best frequency for hair cells. In actuality, cells respond to a broad range of frequencies. Perceptual specificity comes thanks to lateral inhibition. ...
- 43k
2
votes
Anatomy of the ear canal
Short answer
There is no dead end from the entrance of the auditory canal to the tympanic membrane. The diameter and shape of the object inserted rather determine whether it can reach deep enough.
...
- 52.3k
2
votes
Why do we like music?
DISCLAIMER: Usually I do research before I write. But the factual basis on this topic are pretty... meh.. So this time it was the other way around. So take note that the arguments here are just ideas. ...
- 1,779
2
votes
Accepted
Depolarization and hyperpolarization in stereocilia of the inner ear
There are roughly two modes of pitch coding in the cochlea: place-coding and temporal coding. The place-theory is the most prevalent accepted model of how the cochlea realizes pitch coding (e.g., ...
- 52.3k
2
votes
What is the evolutionary purpose of the topology of the human ear?
Humans can localize the horizontal location of sound ("azimuth") using temporal cues (sound reaches the 'closer' ear first') and level (the head blocks some sound so it louder at the 'closer' eat) ...
- 43k
2
votes
How does the human ear guess the direction of the source?
The ear doesn't actually find the source, it's how the sound is perceived across both ears.
A sound coming from the side is the most obvious case where you get blasted on 1 ear and a relative muffled ...
- 765
2
votes
Accepted
Pitch perception - why is the missing fundamental not directly detected in the cochlea?
The basilar membrane in the inner ear (cochlea) is a place-dependent Fourier transformer (Fig. 1). This means that there is an orderly tonotopic map projected on the basilar membrane (BM). Traveling ...
- 52.3k
2
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between the otolith membrane and the endolymph?
The two pictures you provide in the question (Fig. 2 and 3 below) actually show it all. You just didn't got the scale right. The question shows prior research effort and the inner ear is a complex ...
- 52.3k
2
votes
Do nerves work as I think they work and what does that mean for our senses?
I'll attempt an answer, but please know you don't have a clear nor defining question to address. This is more suited for conversation or open discussion, and I recommend starting a chat on the topic. ...
- 6,182
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible