THE DIAPHRAGM-ROD PROSTHESIS FOR THE MIDDLE EAR

Abstract

Research on hearing, whether viewed from an academic standpoint or from the point of view of advances in the treatment of auditory disabilities, cannot be said to have been conspicuously productive. Three interpretations of the function of the middle ear in relation to the conduction of air vibrations to the cochlea had been proposed before Cotugna demonstrated the labyrinth liquid in 1774. Each of these three interpretations finds active supporters even at the present time. Obviously, the development of an effective prosthesis for the middle ear must be based on the function of the sound conduction apparatus it is designed to replace. This makes it necessary to discuss briefly the differences in opinion on the conduction of air vibrations into the cochlea. The three interpretations of the function of the middle ear agree that the drum membrane vibrates to air sounds and disagree on how these vibrations are conducted to