A new look at cochlear mechanics

Abstract

The spectacular discovery of otoacoustic emissions has led to a plethora of cochlear mechanic models, all attempting to explain the active, nonlinear processing of the cochlea suggested by these recordable responses. These hypothetical proposals have been largely based on animal experimentations, mathematically-based theorems, and observations in simulated environments. None have been irrevocably validated although there is much circumstantial evidence expounding their feasibility. Advances in electron microscopy, mechanical engineering, histological examination techniques together with the technology enabling us to measure these emissions, have radically altered the current views on the assumptions of auditory mechanics. This paper briefly contrasts the previously established cochlear theories proposed by doyens such as Helmholtz (1857) and von Bikisy (1936) with current perspectives advanced by cell biologists and biophysicists. However, the exact nature of cochlear processing still remains a mystery. As numerous chasms of knowledge about audition are being filled, so even more questions are posed in a seemingly eternal quest for the answer!