COCHLEAR MECHANICS, WAVE PROPAGATION, AND COMPRESSION

耳蜗力学、波传播和压缩

• 批准号: 7788177
• 负责人: Stephen T Neely
• 金额: $ 47.38万
• 依托单位: FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-04-01 至 2012-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7788177
• 关键词: Accounting; Acoustic Nerve; Acoustics; Address; Amplifiers; Appearance; Area; Auditory; Basilar Membrane; Behavioral; Cochlea; Computer Simulation; Data; Development; Evaluation; Experimental Models; External auditory canal; Failure; Frequencies; Goals; Growth; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Hearing problem; Human; Individual; Lead; Linear Regressions; Liquid substance; Literature; Loudness; Masks; Measurement; Measures; Mechanics; Methods; Modeling; Nerve Fibers; Output; Peripheral; Phase; Property; Psychometrics; Public Health; Research; Research Design; Research Personnel; Sense Organs; Side; Signal Transduction; Simulate; Stimulus; Study models; Techniques; Testing; Time; Travel; Width; Work; base; clinically significant; design; experience; hearing impairment; human subject; method development; notch protein; novel; otoacoustic emission; pressure; programs; remediation; research study; response; sound; theories; two-dimensional

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research program focuses on theoretical and empirical studies that address current issues in cochlear mechanics relevant to noninvasive evaluation of cochlear function. The major objectives of these studies are to understand cochlear-wave propagation and to characterize cochlear compression. These objectives are approached through six specific aims. The first three aims focus on aspects of cochlear-wave propagation through modeling efforts directed at the following theoretical issues: (1) appropriate characterization of cochlear-amplifier gain; (2) a more complete understanding of distortion-product retrograde wave propagation; and (3) understanding the mechanisms that underlie notches in basilar-membrane measurements. The next three aims characterize cochlear compression growth through a combination of empirical studies involving human subjects and theoretical work involving models of cochlear mechanics. Specifically, these three studies are designed to increase our understanding of the relation between: (4) compression growth rate (CGR) and the slope of forward-masking psychometric functions; (5) CGR and suppression growth rate; and (6) CGR and cochlear reflectance. The modeling work will facilitate interpretation of the measurements and provide a deeper understanding of cochlear wave-propagation, cochlear compression, and negative damping regions. Reliable estimation of CGR is clinically significant for the remediation of hearing loss because its deviation from normal provides a precise estimate of the amount of compression that an external hearing aid needs to provide. The goal of the proposed research is the development of a computational model of cochlear mechanics that will facilitate the interpretation of noninvasive measures of peripheral auditory status in humans. This work is relevant to public-health because people with hearing loss not only have problems hearing soft sounds, they also experience sounds growing louder too quickly. Understanding how the sense organ of hearing (the cochlea) influences the growth of loudness should provide useful information for the design of hearing aids tailored to individual needs.

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究项目侧重于理论和实证研究，解决当前与耳蜗功能无创评估相关的耳蜗力学问题。这些研究的主要目的是了解耳蜗波的传播和耳蜗压缩的特征。这些目标是通过六个具体目标来实现的。前三个目标侧重于耳蜗波传播的各个方面，通过针对以下理论问题的建模努力：(1)耳蜗放大器增益的适当表征；(2)对畸变积逆行波传播有了更全面的认识；(3)了解基底膜测量中凹痕的机制。接下来的三个目标是通过结合涉及人类受试者的实证研究和涉及耳蜗力学模型的理论工作来表征耳蜗压缩生长。具体而言，这三项研究旨在加深我们对以下关系的理解：(4)压缩增长率（CGR）与前向掩蔽心理测量函数斜率之间的关系；(5) CGR和抑制生长速率；(6) CGR和耳蜗反射率。建模工作将有助于解释测量结果，并提供对耳蜗波传播、耳蜗压缩和负阻尼区域的更深入理解。可靠的CGR估计对于听力损失的修复具有重要的临床意义，因为它与正常的偏差提供了对外部助听器需要提供的压缩量的精确估计。提出的研究目标是发展一个耳蜗力学的计算模型，这将有助于解释人类周围听觉状态的非侵入性测量。这项工作与公共卫生有关，因为听力损失的人不仅听不到柔和的声音，而且声音变大得太快。了解听觉感觉器官（耳蜗）如何影响响度的增长，将为设计适合个人需求的助听器提供有用的信息。