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Subharmonic Distortion in Ear Canal Pressure and Intracochlear Pressure and Motion

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Abstract

When driven at sound pressure levels greater than ~110 dB stimulus pressure level, the mammalian middle ear is known to produce subharmonic distortion. In this study, we simultaneously measured subharmonics in the ear canal pressure, intracochlear pressure, and basilar membrane or round window membrane velocity, in gerbil. Our primary objective was to quantify the relationship between the subharmonics measured in the ear canal and their intracochlear counterparts. We had two primary findings: (1) The subharmonics emerged suddenly, with a substantial amplitude in the ear canal and the cochlea; (2) at the stimulus level for which subharmonics emerged, the pressure in scala vestibuli/pressure in the ear canal amplitude relationship was similar for the subharmonic and fundamental components. These findings are important for experiments and clinical conditions in which high sound pressure level stimuli are used and could lead to confounding subharmonic stimulation.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the reviewers and JARO editor for their constructive comments and to Willem F. Decraemer for contributing to the discussion on asymmetric stiffness. These studies were supported by a grant from the NIDCD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Stanley Huang & Elizabeth S. Olson

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Wei Dong & Elizabeth S. Olson

Authors
  1. Stanley Huang
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  2. Wei Dong
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  3. Elizabeth S. Olson
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Correspondence to Elizabeth S. Olson.

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Huang, S., Dong, W. & Olson, E.S. Subharmonic Distortion in Ear Canal Pressure and Intracochlear Pressure and Motion. JARO 13, 461–471 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-012-0326-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-012-0326-3

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