AN EMPIRICAL BOUND ON THE COMPRESSIBILITY OF THE COCHLEA

Effects of a possible inner-ear compressibility on middle-ear transfer functions are explored and a small upper bound on the magnitude of that compressibility established. Consequently, the traditional two-port representation of middle-ear mechanics remains valid to within a few percent. If the compressibility of the cochlea is small but finite, a simple phenomenological model of that compressibility correctly predicts hearing thresholds in the "middleless" ear at low frequencies. Experiments to establish the value of cochlear compressibility and to explore further its possible contributions to residual hearing in patients with missing or disarticulated middle-ear ossicles are suggested.