Three Mechanisms of Hearing by Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

In order to determine the relation between the hearing of normal and operated ears, 20 ears lacking tympanic membranes were stimulated electrically. 11 ears heard pure tones corresponding in pitch to the frequency of the applied voltage; 7 heard a buzzing noise whose character was roughly independent of the stimulating frequency. Examination showed that the pure-tone response in the operated ears was purely linear, in contradistinction to the quadratic response of normal ears. Hence, under electrical stimulation normal and operated ears hear by means of 2 distinctly different mechanisms. The square-law response in normal ears is apparently mediated by an electrostatic action in the middle ear. The linear response in operated ears may or may not be the inverse of the cochlear micro-phonic. Evidence is presented that direct stimulation of the auditory nerve occurs in those ears which hear a buzzing noise.