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

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.

Hair Cells

Hair Cells

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.

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.

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

Test-Retest Reliability Bounds for Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant Word and Phoneme Scores for Cochlear-Implant Users.

Ear and hearing·2026

Same author

The Roles of Selective Attention and Asymmetric Experience in Bilateral Speech Interference for Single-Sided Deafness Cochlear Implant and Vocoder Listeners.

Ear and hearing·2025

Same author

Clinical Outcomes for Adult Single-Sided Deafness Cochlear Implantees Exceeding the 5% Candidacy Criterion.

Ear and hearing·2024

Same author

Letter to the Editor: Discussion of Measurement and Analysis Techniques to Estimate Interaural Place-of-Stimulation Mismatch for Binaural Perception, Re: Staisloff and Aronoff (2021). Comparing Methods for Pairing Electrodes Across Ears With Cochlear Implants, Ear Hear, 42, 1218-1227.

Ear and hearing·2024

Same author

Functional Hearing Difficulties in Blast-Exposed Service Members With Normal to Near-Normal Hearing Thresholds.

Ear and hearing·2023

Same author

The Effect of Sound Localization on Auditory-Only and Audiovisual Speech Recognition in a Simulated Multitalker Environment.

Trends in hearing·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 8, 2026

A Lightweight, Headphones-based System for Manipulating Auditory Feedback in Songbirds

A Lightweight, Headphones-based System for Manipulating Auditory Feedback in Songbirds

Published on: November 26, 2012

Headphones over the cochlear-implant sound processor to replace direct audio input.

Joshua G W Bernstein¹, Julianna Voelker¹, Sandeep A Phatak¹

¹National Military Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20889, USAjoshua.g.bernstein.civ@health.mil, julianna.r.voelker.ctr@health.mil, s.a.phatak@gmail.com.

JASA Express Letters

|September 24, 2024

Summary

New methods for presenting sound to cochlear implant (CI) users via headphones over sound processors (SPs) were evaluated. Calibration spectra help adjust for differences, ensuring accurate psychoacoustic testing for CI recipients.

More Related Videos

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Published on: January 25, 2016

Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access

Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access

Published on: June 16, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 8, 2026

A Lightweight, Headphones-based System for Manipulating Auditory Feedback in Songbirds

A Lightweight, Headphones-based System for Manipulating Auditory Feedback in Songbirds

Published on: November 26, 2012

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Neuro-rehabilitation Approach for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Published on: January 25, 2016

Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access

Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access

Published on: June 16, 2022

Area of Science:

Audiology
Biomedical Engineering
Hearing Science

Background:

Direct audio input (DAI) is unavailable for many modern cochlear implant sound processors (SPs).
Psychoacoustic testing is crucial for evaluating hearing aid and cochlear implant performance.
Alternative stimulus presentation methods are needed for current SPs.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the feasibility of using circumaural headphones placed over cochlear implant sound processors (SPs).
To develop calibration methods for headphone stimulus presentation compared to loudspeaker and DAI.
To provide data for accurate psychoacoustic testing with newer SPs.

Main Methods:

An acoustic manikin was used to measure cochlear implant electrical output levels.
Tones were presented to SPs via loudspeaker, DAI, and circumaural headphones.
Calibration spectra were estimated for each modality to quantify differences.

Main Results:

Differences in calibration spectra were observed between the three modalities.
High-frequency differences were attributed to microphone response characteristics (DAI vs. others).
Low-frequency differences were attributed to proximity effects (headphones vs. loudspeaker).

Conclusions:

Circumaural headphones are a feasible alternative for psychoacoustic stimulus presentation with newer cochlear implant SPs.
Calibration tables are provided to correct for modality-specific spectral differences.
This facilitates accurate audiological assessments for cochlear implant users.