THE ELECTROPHONIC RESPONSE TO PHASE REVERSAL

Abstract

The response of the auditory apparatus to a phase change of 180[degree] in an electrical stimulus is found to be a momentary discontinuity in the sound similar to the "phase change beat" described by other investigators in response to a phase reversal in an air-borne mechanical stimulus. This is interpreted as meaning that interposed between the electrical stimulus and the response of the auditory nerve there must be a mechanical process which is less than critically damped. The results are thought to exclude direct stimulation of the hair-cells as the mechanism responsible for the electrophonic effect.