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Are spontaneous otoacoustic emissions generated by self-sustained cochlear oscillators?
C L Talmadge1, A Tubis, H P Wit
1Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|May 1, 1991
Summary
Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) are likely self-sustained oscillations, not just noise-driven phenomena. Further analysis confirms their properties align with this self-powered oscillation model.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Acoustics
- Nonlinear Dynamics
Background:
- Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) are low-level sounds generated in the inner ear.
- Their underlying generation mechanism remains a subject of theoretical and experimental investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and extend theoretical analyses of SOAEs as self-sustained oscillations.
- To examine spectral and statistical properties of SOAEs and compare them with alternative models.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of self-sustained oscillation models for SOAEs.
- Examination of spectral and statistical properties of SOAEs.
- Comparison of experimental data with predictions from various theoretical models, including noise-driven nonlinear systems.
Main Results:
- Theoretical analyses support the description of SOAEs as self-sustained oscillations.
- Observed spectral and statistical properties of SOAEs are consistent with the self-sustained oscillation model.
- Alternative noise-driven models can mimic some statistical distributions but fail upon narrow-band filtering.
Conclusions:
- The self-sustained oscillation model provides a robust framework for understanding SOAE generation.
- SOAEs likely require an intrinsic power source, characteristic of self-sustained oscillations.
- Noise-driven models are insufficient to fully explain the observed properties of SOAEs.