EFFECTS OF PERFORATIONS OF THE TYMPANIC MEMBRANE ON COCHLEAR POTENTIALS

Abstract

HISTORICALLY, three positions regarding the effects of perforation of the tympanic membrane have been held. Cooper,¹ Toynbee,² Treitel,³ Bingham,⁴ and, more recently Crowe and Hughson⁵ believed that little loss of hearing resulted from such perforations. In addition to some classic otologists,⁶ Minton⁷ and Békésy⁸ believed that disorders in the transmission apparatus affected chiefly the low tones, while they did not modify the perception of high tones or, at least, modified them in much less degree.⁶ Lorente de Nó,⁹ Pohlman,¹⁰ and Bordley and Hardy¹¹ thought the tympanic membrane to be as important for the reception of the high tones as for the reception of the low tones. This study, in an attempt to clarify the controversy, shows the effects of perforations of the tympanic membrane on the cochlear potential responses of the ear. Effects of both the area and