COCHLEAR MECHANICS, WAVE PROPAGATION, AND COMPRESSION

耳蜗力学、波传播和压缩 该研究计划的重点是理论和实证研究，解决当前 与耳蜗功能无创评估相关的耳蜗力学问题。主要 这些研究的目的是了解耳蜗波的传播和表征 耳蜗压迫这些目标通过六个具体目标实现。第一 三个目标集中在耳蜗波传播的各个方面， 以下理论问题：（1）耳蜗放大器增益的适当表征;（2） 更完整地理解畸变产物逆行波的传播;以及（3） 了解基底膜测量中缺口的机制。的 接下来的三个目标是通过结合经验的 涉及人类受试者的研究和涉及耳蜗力学模型的理论工作。 具体来说，这三项研究旨在增加我们对 （4）压缩增长率（CGR）与前掩蔽心理测量的斜率之间的关系 功能;（5）CGR和抑制生长率;（6）CGR和耳蜗反射率。的 建模工作将有助于解释测量结果，并提供更深入的 理解耳蜗波传播、耳蜗压缩和负阻尼 地区CGR的可靠估计对于听力损失的补救具有临床意义 因为它与正常值的偏差提供了压缩量的精确估计， 助听器的作用该研究的目标是开发 耳蜗力学的计算模型，这将有助于解释 非侵入性测量人类的外周听觉状态。 这项工作与公共卫生有关，因为听力损失的人不仅有 除了难以听到柔和的声音外，他们还遇到声音变大得太快的问题。 了解听觉器官（耳蜗）如何影响响度的增长 应该为设计适合个人需求的助听器提供有用的信息。

COCHLEAR MECHANICS, WAVE PROPAGATION, AND COMPRESSION 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.