Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

Anatomy of the Ear

Anatomy of the Ear

Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...

The Auditory Ossicles

The Auditory Ossicles

The auditory ossicles of the middle ear transmit sounds from the air as vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea. The auditory ossicles consist of two malleus (hammer) bones, two incus (anvil) bones, and two stapes (stirrups), one on each side. These bones develop during the fetal stage and are the ones to ossify first. They are fully mature at birth and do not grow afterward.
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...

Hearing

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...

Auditory Pathway

Auditory Pathway

Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

<i>In vivo</i> evidence of outer hair cell length changes and their role in high-frequency cochlear mechanics.

Frontiers in audiology and otology·2026

Same author

A deep-learning model for one-shot transcranial ultrasound simulation and phase aberration correction.

Medical physics·2025

Same author

Anatomical Integrity of the Human Cochlea Estimated with Optical Coherence Tomography for Future Clinical Application.

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology : JARO·2025

Same author

UTILIZING INFORMATION THEORETIC APPROACH TO STUDY COCHLEAR NEURAL DEGENERATION.

ArXiv·2025

Same author

Simulation-based inference for subject-specific tuning of middle ear finite-element models towards personalized objective diagnosis.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Anatomical integrity of the human cochlea estimated with optical coherence tomography for future clinical application.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same journal

TGF-β signaling regulates flat epithelium formation in severely injured adult mouse utricle through epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Hearing research·2026

Same journal

Membrane scaffolding in auditory hair cells - a molecular tightrope walk enables lateral wall stiffness and flexibility.

Hearing research·2026

Same journal

Speech-in-noise recognition during hearing protector use: Human performance and acoustic prediction.

Hearing research·2026

Same journal

Estimation of hair cell loss from audiograms.

Hearing research·2026

Same journal

Cochlear size variation in a large-scale international multicentre cohort.

Hearing research·2026

Same journal

Estimation of minor-to-moderate conductive hearing loss with distortion-product otoacoustic emissions in humans.

Hearing research·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Published on: December 20, 2024

Middle-ear function at high frequencies quantified with advanced bone-conduction measures.

Gerald R Popelka¹, Goutham Telukuntla, Sunil Puria

¹Department of Otolaryngology, Stanford University, 801 Welch Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5739, USA. gpopelka@stanford.edu

Hearing Research

|November 11, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A new magnetostrictive bone-conduction transducer expands high-frequency hearing tests. This technology improves diagnosis of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss for better auditory assessments.

More Related Videos

High-Speed Human Temporal Bone Sectioning for the Assessment of COVID-19-Associated Middle Ear Pathology

High-Speed Human Temporal Bone Sectioning for the Assessment of COVID-19-Associated Middle Ear Pathology

Published on: May 18, 2022

Enhanced Cochlear Coverage and Hearing Preservation in High-Frequency Hearing Loss via Electric Acoustic Stimulation with Longer Electrode

Enhanced Cochlear Coverage and Hearing Preservation in High-Frequency Hearing Loss via Electric Acoustic Stimulation with Longer Electrode

Published on: October 11, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention

Published on: December 20, 2024

High-Speed Human Temporal Bone Sectioning for the Assessment of COVID-19-Associated Middle Ear Pathology

High-Speed Human Temporal Bone Sectioning for the Assessment of COVID-19-Associated Middle Ear Pathology

Published on: May 18, 2022

Enhanced Cochlear Coverage and Hearing Preservation in High-Frequency Hearing Loss via Electric Acoustic Stimulation with Longer Electrode

Enhanced Cochlear Coverage and Hearing Preservation in High-Frequency Hearing Loss via Electric Acoustic Stimulation with Longer Electrode

Published on: October 11, 2024

Area of Science:

Audiology
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Standard bone conduction audiometry has limited high-frequency range, hindering complete hearing loss diagnosis.
Current methods provide incomplete diagnostic information for sensorineural and conductive mechanisms at high frequencies.

Purpose of the Study:

Evaluate a novel magnetostrictive bone-conduction transducer for improved high-frequency auditory threshold measurement.
Assess the transducer's accuracy and clinical applicability for diagnosing hearing impairments.

Main Methods:

Laboratory evaluation of the magnetostrictive transducer for harmonic distortion and acoustic radiation.
Clinical testing with subjects (N=11 normal hearing, N=9 sensorineural hearing loss) to obtain auditory thresholds.
Comparison with standard air-conduction measures for high-frequency assessment.

Main Results:

The magnetostrictive transducer demonstrated sufficiently low distortion and acoustic radiation for accurate threshold measurements.
Accurate auditory thresholds were obtained up to 16 kHz and 85 dB HL under clinical conditions.
The technology enables precise characterization of high-frequency sensorineural sensitivity and conductive function.

Conclusions:

The magnetostrictive bone-conduction transducer significantly extends diagnostic capabilities into the high-frequency range.
This advancement allows for more comprehensive assessment of hearing sensitivity and conductive mechanisms.
It offers a valuable tool for improving the diagnosis of high-frequency hearing loss.