NIH R01 · 2024
Middle Ear Nonlinearity in High Intensity Sound: Impact on Hearing Damage and Protection
ABSTRACT: Our ears are vulnerable to intense sounds (> 130 dB SPL) that can damage middle- and inner-ear structures and produce temporary or permanent hearing loss. Prior research has focused on studying damage to the cochlea, but relatively little is known of how the middle ear transmits extremely high-level damaging sounds to the cochlea. While the middle ear muscle reflex elicited by high level steady state sounds can reduce sound transmission to the cochlea, it cannot protect the ear during brief impulsive sounds. Nonlinear mechanisms of the middle ear that can provide protection for impulsive sounds have been observed. However, there are few quantitative studies of middle ear nonlinear…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.