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Related Concept Videos

Anatomy of the Ear01:16

Anatomy of the Ear

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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...
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The Cochlea01:13

The Cochlea

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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.
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Auditory Perception01:17

Auditory Perception

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The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the...
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Auditory Pathway01:15

Auditory Pathway

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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...
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The Auditory Ossicles01:11

The Auditory Ossicles

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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...
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Hair Cells01:22

Hair Cells

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Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Extracting the Cochlea from a Human Temporal Bone: A Cadaveric Protocol
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Inner ear contribution to bone conduction hearing in the human.

Stefan Stenfelt1

  • 1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, 581 85 Linköping, Sweden.

Hearing Research
|December 22, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Bone conduction (BC) hearing relies on skull vibrations. A model shows fluid inertia dominates normal hearing, but inner ear compression is key in conditions like otosclerosis.

Area of Science:

  • Audiology
  • Bioengineering
  • Otolaryngology

Background:

  • Bone conduction (BC) hearing involves sound vibration transmission through skull bone.
  • Clinical findings suggest inner ear vibration dominates human BC hearing responses.
  • Two phenomena convert skull vibrations to basilar membrane excitation: inner ear fluid inertia and inner ear space compression/expansion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relative importance of fluid inertia and compression in bone conduction hearing.
  • To model the transformation of skull vibrations to inner ear excitation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an impedance lumped element model to analyze BC hearing mechanisms.
  • Differentiated inner ear boundary motion into common and differential components.

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Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention
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  • Excited the model with these motions to simulate normal and pathological ear responses.

    • Main Results:

    • Common motion dominated below 7 kHz; differential motion was greater above 7 kHz.
    • In normal ears, fluid inertia response was up to 20 dB greater than compression response.
    • In pathological ears (e.g., otosclerosis), compression response dominated BC hearing above 400 Hz.

    Conclusions:

    • The model accurately predicts clinical findings like the Carhart notch in otosclerosis.
    • Inner ear compression becomes crucial for BC hearing in certain pathological conditions.
    • The study elucidates the distinct contributions of fluid inertia and compression to BC hearing across different frequencies and pathologies.