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Function and Acoustics of the Normal and Diseased Middle Ear

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The Middle Ear

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR))

Abstract

The middle ear helps convert compressional sound waves in the ear canal into transverse traveling waves in the cochlea. This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding middle ear function. The framework is first developed for the normal middle ear and then modified to include several pathological conditions. Data describing energy transfer between the ear canal and the cochlea are reviewed, including impedance measures, ossicular motions, and cochlear pressure measurements. The functions of individual parts of the normal middle ear are discussed for the tympanic membrane, the malleus and incus complex, the stapes, and the middle ear cavity. The effects of specific middle ear pathologies are discussed, including those affecting the middle ear cavity, the tympanic membrane, and the ossicles. Whenever possible, the diseases are represented by modifying the conceptual model of the normal middle ear.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the late Dr. Saumil N. Merchant for many helpful discussions relating to the clinical aspects of the work discussed here. We also thank Mike Ravicz for his extensive help in putting together older data sets for our use in some of the figures. Several colleagues provided substantial help in clarifying the most recent and important aspects of middle ear function: Dr. Jae Hoon helped us to summarize work related to ossicular motion, and Drs. John Rosowski and Lisa Olson helped us to describe recent work on tympanic-membrane motion. We thank Dr. Sunil Puria for his thorough and thoughtful comments that led to great improvements in the overall presentation. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (S. E. Voss, H. H. Nakajima, and C. A. Shera) and the National Science Foundation (S. E. Voss).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Picker Engineering Program, Smith College, 100 Green St. Ford Hall, Northampton, MA, 01063, USA

    Susan E. Voss

  2. Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Hideko Heidi Nakajima

  3. Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Hideko Heidi Nakajima & Christopher A. Shera

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 24, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Alexander M. Huber

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  1. Susan E. Voss
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  2. Hideko Heidi Nakajima
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  3. Alexander M. Huber
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  4. Christopher A. Shera
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan E. Voss .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, USA

    Sunil Puria

  2. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

  3. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

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Voss, S.E., Nakajima, H.H., Huber, A.M., Shera, C.A. (2013). Function and Acoustics of the Normal and Diseased Middle Ear. In: Puria, S., Fay, R., Popper, A. (eds) The Middle Ear. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6591-1_4

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