HearingandDeafness

1.Anatomy&physiology
ChrisDarwin
Websiteforlectures,lecturenotesandfilteringlab:
http://www.lifesci.susx.ac.uk/home/Chris_Darwin/
safari

Outer,middle&innerear

Capture;Amplifymidfreqs

Protection

Frequencyanalysis

Verticaldirectioncoding

Impedancematch

Transduction

Middleearstructure

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Conductivehearingloss
Soundsdontgetintocochlea

Middleearproblems
Helpedbysurgeryandbyamplification

Cochlea

Cochleacrosssection

Travellingwaveonbasilar
membranesortssoundsbyfrequency
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high frequencies

low frequencies

base

apex
distance along basilar membrane

Reponseofbasilarmembrane
tosinewaves
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Eachpointonthemembranerespondsbesttoadifferentfrequency:
highfreqatbase,lowatapex.
amadeus

praat

OrganofCorti
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Inner
haircell
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HairCell
Stereocilia

Auditorynerveinnervation

IHC (1)

OHC (2)

radial afferent (blue)

spiral afferent (green)

lateral efferent (pink)

medial efferent (red)

Auditorynerve
rateintensityfunctions
100

saturation
many

80
60
40

few
high spontaneous rate

20

low spontaneous rate

30

60
log amplitude (dB SPL)

90

PhaseLockingofInnerHairCells

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Auditorynerveconnectedtoinnerhaircelltendstofire
atthesamephaseofthestimulatingwaveform.

Phaselocking
1
0.5
0
-0.5

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

-1

Response to Low Frequency tones

Inter-spike Intervals
2 periods
1 period

time (t)

Response to High Frequency tones > 5kHz

Random intervals

time (t)

nerve spike

Inner
vs
Outer
HairCells

InnervsOuterHairCells
InnerHairCells

OuterHairCells

Sensory

Motor

Afferentnerves

Efferentnerves

Singlerow

c.3rows

OHCmovement

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Passive
NoOHCmovement

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Active
WithOHCmovement

OHCactivity
OHCsarerelativelymoreactiveforquietsoundsthanfor
loudsounds.
Theyonlyamplifysoundsthathavethecharacteristic
frequencyoftheirplace.
Increasessensitivity(lowersthresholds)
Increasesselectivity(reducesbandwidthofauditoryfilter)
Givesearalogarithmic(nonlinear)amplituderesponse
ProduceOtoacousticemissions

Auditorytuningcurves
Normal bandwidth

Innerhaircell
100
damage

Abnormal
Threshold

80
60

Healthyear
Normal
bandwidth

40
20

Normal
Threshold

Characteristic
Frequency
log frequency

Outerhaircelldamage
Abnormal bandwidth
100

Abnormal
Threshold

80
60

Normal
bandwidth

40
20

Normal
Threshold

Characteristic
Frequency
log frequency

ConductivevsSensorineuraldeafness
Mostlyacombinationof
OHCandIHCdamage
Conductive

Sensori-neural

Sensori-neural

Origin

Middle-ear

Cochlea (IHCs)

Cochlea (OHCs)

Thresholds

Raised

Raised

Raised

Filter bandwidths

Normal

Normal

Increased

Loudness growth

Normal

Normal

Increased (Recruitment

Becomeslinear,so
Nocombinationtones
Ortwotonesuppression

NormalvsImpairedDynamicRange

Normalauditorynonlinearities
Normalloudnessgrowth(followsWebersLaw)

Combinationtones
Twotonesuppression
Otoacousticemissions