Cochlear Nerve Potentials Recorded from the Ear Canal in Man

Abstract

Using average technique on an IBM 1800 computer a non-surgical, clinically applicable method of recording action potentials from the cochlea is described. We obtained the components N1, N3 and N3 in response to well-defined transient sounds, which were measured with a sound probe. Also, an electropositive response is described. In response to inverse sound stimulation, different response patterns were found. An H- and L-slope in the transfer function of amplitude could be confirmed but in addition we also found a knee point in the transfer function of latency. Simultaneous plotting of standard deviation curves for each recording could be used as an indicator of response and seems to indicate a rise in the non-syncronous nerve activity of the background noise. The findings are discussed.