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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.

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.
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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 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...

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Related Experiment Video

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Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R

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Age-Related Changes in Binaural Interaction at Brainstem Level.

Lindsey N Van Yper¹, Katrien Vermeire, Eddy F J De Vel

¹1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; and 3 ENT Department, Nijmegen Center for Implantation in Otology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Ear and Hearing

|February 17, 2016

Summary

Brainstem binaural interaction, crucial for understanding speech, declines with age, particularly for specific sound frequencies. This age-related decline in auditory processing is stimulus-dependent.

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Area of Science:

Auditory Neuroscience
Gerontology
Speech Perception

Background:

Age-related hearing loss impairs speech understanding in noisy environments.
Central auditory system changes contribute to age-related hearing deficits.
Binaural interaction, essential for sound localization and speech clarity, may degrade with age.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate age-related changes in binaural interaction at the auditory brainstem level.
To test the hypothesis that brainstem binaural interaction deteriorates with advancing age.

Main Methods:

Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) were recorded in 42 participants across various age groups.
ABRs were elicited using monaural (right/left) and binaural stimulation with clicks and 500 Hz tone-bursts.
Binaural interaction was assessed by comparing binaural ABRs with summed monaural ABRs, analyzing latency and amplitude.

Main Results:

Click ABRs showed enhanced binaural interaction (shorter latency, smaller amplitude) compared to summed monaural responses.
500 Hz tone-burst ABRs exhibited smaller amplitudes in binaural conditions but no latency differences.
A significant age-effect was observed for 500 Hz tone-burst ABRs, but not for click ABRs.

Conclusions:

Auditory brainstem binaural interaction appears to decline with age.
The observed age-related decline in binaural processing is dependent on the type of auditory stimulus used.