An Autobiographical Perspective

Auditory Sound Transmission provides an integrated, state-of-the-art description and quantitative analysis of sound transmission from the outer ear to the sensory cells in the cochlea of the inner ear. It describes in detail the structures and mechanisms involved and gives their input and transmission characteristics. It shows how sound transmission in one part of the ear depends on the input characteristics of the next part and how sound is analyzed in the inner ear before it reaches the nervous system. The book is divided into seven chapters. The first gives the general overview of the path of sound in the ear. The second concerns the acoustics of the outer ear which is important not only for sound transmission in the ear but also for the design and calibration of earphones, as well as for clinical and research measurements of sound pressure in the ear canal. The third chapter analyzes the middle ear function which is crucial for adapting the conditions of sound propagation in the air to those in the inner ear fluids. The middle ear is prone to various malfunctions, and it is shown how they change the acoustic conditions measured in the ear canal and can be diagnosed on this basis. The next three chapters are dedicated to the most intricate mechanical part of the auditory system, the cochlea. Because of its complexity, its function is explained in three steps: first, with the help of simplifications produced by death; second, on the basis of the measured characteristics of the live organ; third, with the help of quantitative analysis. The last chapter describes cochlear mechanisms underlying pitch and loudness perception.