Generation place of the long- and short-latency components of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions in a nonlinear cochlear model

J Acoust Soc Am. 2013 Jun;133(6):4098-108. doi: 10.1121/1.4802940.

Abstract

Time-domain numerical solutions of a nonlinear active cochlear model forced by click stimuli are analyzed with a time-frequency wavelet technique to identify the components of the otoacoustic response associated with different generation mechanisms/places. Previous experimental studies have shown evidence for the presence of at least two components in the transient otoacoustic response: A long-latency response, growing compressively with increasing stimulus level, and a shorter-latency response, characterized by faster growth. The possible mechanisms for the generation of the two components are discussed using the results of the numerical simulations. The model is a one-dimensional (1-D) transmission line model with nonlinear and nonlocal active terms representing the anti-damping action of the "cochlear amplifier." The dependence on the stimulus level of latency and level was measured for the different components of the response. The generation mechanisms/places of the different components were identified by varying the stimulus level and by turning off the cochlear roughness in well-defined cochlear regions. The results suggest that reflections from roughness coming from basal regions of the cochlea may give a relevant contribution to the early otoacoustic response, whereas nonlinear mechanisms seem to produce a much smaller additional contribution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Basilar Membrane / physiology
  • Cochlea / physiology*
  • Computer Simulation*
  • Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer / physiology
  • Humans
  • Nonlinear Dynamics*
  • Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous / physiology*
  • Oval Window, Ear / physiology
  • Reaction Time / physiology*
  • Sound Spectrography