Impedance matching, optimum velocity, and ideal middle ears

One way to assess an ear's performance as a receiver of acoustic power is to consider impedance matching at the tympanic membrane. Assumptions about some of the impedances involved have lead to the idea of an optimum velocity magnitude (per unit pressure), which has been used as a test of middle-ear performance. We show that this approach is not a realistic way to assess effectiveness of power absorption at the tympanic membrane. More generally, we suggest that, if the performance of the combined external-and-middle ear in collecting acoustic power and delivering it to the inner ear is considered, the external- and middle-ear power-transfer efficiencies, as well as impedance matching, are involved in relating performance to an ideal.