Behavioral hearing range of the chinchilla

Heffner, Rickye S.; Heffner, Henry E.

doi:10.1016/0378-5955(91)90183-a

Cited by 109 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The chinchilla has a comparable audiogram to that of humans (hearing range of~50 Hz-33 kHz) in addition to similar physiological and anatomical characteristics (tympanic membrane size, cochlea size, etc.) as compared to the human auditory system (Miller 1970;Vrettakos et al 1988;Heffner and Heffner 1991;Niemiec et al 1992). These features make the chinchilla a proper animal model for comparisons to human studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conductive Hearing Loss Induced by Experimental Middle-Ear Effusion in a Chinchilla Model Reveals Impaired Tympanic Membrane-Coupled Ossicular Chain Movement

Thornton

Chevallier²,

Koka³

et al. 2013

JARO

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Otitis media with effusion (OME) occurs when fluid collects in the middle-ear space behind the tympanic membrane (TM). As a result of this effusion, sounds can become attenuated by as much as 30-40 dB, causing a conductive hearing loss (CHL). However, the exact mechanical cause of the hearing loss remains unclear. Possible causes can include altered compliance of the TM, inefficient movement of the ossicular chain, decreased compliance of the oval window-stapes footplate complex, or altered input to the oval and round window due to conduction of sound energy through middle-ear fluid. Here, we studied the contribution of TM motion and umbo velocity to a CHL caused by middle-ear effusion. Using the chinchilla as an animal model, umbo velocity (V U ) and cochlear microphonic (CM) responses were measured simultaneously using sinusoidal tone pip stimuli (125 Hz-12 kHz) before and after filling the middle ear with different volumes (0.5-2.0 mL) of silicone oil (viscosity, 3.5 Poise). Concurrent increases in CM thresholds and decreases in umbo velocity were noted after the middle ear was filled with 1.0 mL or more of fluid. Across animals, completely filling the middle ear with fluid caused 20-40-dB increases in CM thresholds and 15-35-dB attenuations in umbo velocity. Clinic-standard 226-Hz tympanometry was insensitive to fluid-associated changes in CM thresholds until virtually the entire middle-ear cavity had been filled (approximately 91.5 mL). The changes in umbo velocity, CM thresholds, and tympanometry due to experimentally induced OME suggest CHL arises primarily as a result of impaired TM mobility and TM-coupled umbo motion plus additional mechanisms within the middle ear.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conductive Hearing Loss Induced by Experimental Middle-Ear Effusion in a Chinchilla Model Reveals Impaired Tympanic Membrane-Coupled Ossicular Chain Movement

Thornton

Chevallier²,

Koka³

et al. 2013

JARO

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“…4); open symbols, the highest CFs of auditory-nerve fibers reported in the literature for pigeon (75), chinchilla (A.N.T., N. C. Rich, and M.A.R., unpublished observations), and barn owl (76). The ordinate indicates the frequencies at which audiometric thresholds exceed the minimum threshold by 20 (lower bracket), 40 (symbol), and 60 dB (upper bracket) (unavailable for chinchilla): barn owl (22,23), cat (77), chinchilla (26), gerbil (24), guinea pig (64), horseshoe bat (R. rouxii) (78), pigeon (61), rat (79), and turtle (59).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of the external, middle, and inner ears in determining the bandwidth of hearing

Ruggero

Temchin

2002

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

108

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The view seems to prevail that the frequency range of hearing is determined by the properties of the outer and middle ears. We argue that this view is an oversimplification, in part because the reactive component of cochlear input impedance, which affects the low-frequency sensitivity of the cochlea, is neglected. Further, we use comparisons of audiograms and transfer functions for stapes (or columella) velocity or pressure in scala vestibuli near the stapes footplate to show that the middle ear by itself is not responsible for limiting high-frequency hearing in the few species for which such comparisons are possible. Finally, we propose that the tonotopic organization of the cochlea plays a crucial role in setting the frequency limits of cochlear sensitivity and hence in determining the bandwidth of hearing.T his article has two purposes. The first is to argue that the often-stated notion that the shape of the audiogram is largely due to the frequency-filtering properties of the external and middle ears is an oversimplification. That notion neglects the fact that a reactive component of cochlear input impedance decreases the low-frequency sensitivity of the cochlea. More importantly, comparisons of behavioral thresholds and the magnitudes of stapes (or columella) velocity (V) or pressure in scala vestibuli near the stapes footplate (P SV ) reveal that the middle ear does not limit highfrequency hearing in the few species for which such comparisons are possible. The second purpose is to offer the hypothesis that the tonotopic organization of the cochlea makes a crucial contribution to setting the frequency limits of inner-ear responses and hence the bandwidth of hearing thresholds. Historical OverviewWhen it became evident that ''high-frequency hearing is . . . a uniquely mammalian characteristic'' (1), there was speculation on the physiological and phylogenetic origins of the frequency limitations of hearing. According to one view, high-frequency hearing in mammals ''depends on the ossicular linkage in the middle ear and may have been one of the primary sources of selective pressure that resulted in the evolutionary transformation of reptilian jaw bones into mammalian auditory ossicles'' (1). A more inclusive perspective was that ''the ossicular chain of the mammalian ear is not the only factor involved in the high-frequency sensitivity of mammals'' (2), and it was suggested that the high-frequency limit of hearing across species is well correlated with an index derived from the length and width of the basilar membrane (BM; ref.3).On the basis of theoretical considerations, it was postulated long ago that cochlear input impedance is resistive at most frequencies and that reactive components affect cochlear responses only at very low (e.g., Ͻ3-10 Hz) and very high (4, 5) frequencies, thus playing a very minor role in determining the bandwidth of hearing. However, a significant role for the cochlea in setting the low-frequency limit of hearing became evident when microphonics data suggested that cochlear input im...

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“…What is clear from Figure 7 is that the high-frequency cutoff of stapes-velocity sensitivity obtained in the present study (red trace) is nearly an octave higher than the cutoff of auditory-nerve fiber responses (if evaluated at −15 dB in both cases). Thus, it is the intrinsic mechanical properties of the cochlea, i.e., tonotopicity at its base [which, in turn, largely determine the responses of auditory-nerve fibers (Narayan et al 1998;Ruggero et al 2000)], rather than the input to the cochlea (middle-ear vibrations), which limit the upper cutoff of hearing ((Ruggero and Temchin (Miller 1970;Heffner and Heffner 1991) and auditory-nerve sensitivities (Temchin et al 2008b) in chinchilla. To make stapes-velocity and auditory-nerve sensitivities (expressed re SPL at the eardrum) comparable to behavioral sensitivities (measured in intact chinchillas in a free field), they have been corrected according to the external-ear transfer function (Fig.…”

Section: Middle-ear Pressure Gainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stapes Vibration in the Chinchilla Middle Ear: Relation to Behavioral and Auditory-Nerve Thresholds

Robles

Temchin²,

Fan³

2015

JARO

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The vibratory responses to tones of the stapes and incus were measured in the middle ears of deeply anesthetized chinchillas using a wide-band acousticstimulus system and a laser velocimeter coupled to a microscope. With the laser beam at an angle of about 40°relative to the axis of stapes piston-like motion, the sensitivity-vs.-frequency curves of vibrations at the head of the stapes and the incus lenticular process were very similar to each other but larger, in the range 15-30 kHz, than the vibrations of the incus just peripheral to the pedicle. With the laser beam aligned with the axis of pistonlike stapes motion, vibrations of the incus just peripheral to its pedicle were very similar to the vibrations of the lenticular process or the stapes head measured at the 40°angle. Thus, the pedicle prevents transmission to the stapes of components of incus vibration not aligned with the axis of stapes piston-like motion. The mean magnitude curve of stapes velocities is fairly flat over a wide frequency range, with a mean value of about 0.19 mm . (s Pa −1 ), has a high-frequency cutoff of 25 kHz (measured at −3 dB re the mean value), and decreases with a slope of about −60 dB/octave at higher frequencies. According to our measurements, the chinchilla middle ear transmits acoustic signals into the cochlea at frequencies exceeding both the bandwidth of responses of auditory-nerve fibers and the upper cutoff of hearing. The phase lags of stapes velocity relative to ear-canal pressure increase approximately linearly, with slopes equivalent to pure delays of about 57-76 μs.

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Behavioral hearing range of the chinchilla

Cited by 109 publications

References 10 publications

Conductive Hearing Loss Induced by Experimental Middle-Ear Effusion in a Chinchilla Model Reveals Impaired Tympanic Membrane-Coupled Ossicular Chain Movement

Conductive Hearing Loss Induced by Experimental Middle-Ear Effusion in a Chinchilla Model Reveals Impaired Tympanic Membrane-Coupled Ossicular Chain Movement

The roles of the external, middle, and inner ears in determining the bandwidth of hearing

Stapes Vibration in the Chinchilla Middle Ear: Relation to Behavioral and Auditory-Nerve Thresholds

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