download : 127 times

Open Date : 2017-02-07
914 KB

Open Date : 2017-02-07
Author
Nishimura, Tadashi
Hosoi, Hiroshi
Saito, Osamu
Miyamae, Ryosuke
Shimokura, Ryota Nara Medical University
Matsui, Toshie
Yamanaka, Toshiaki
Kitahara, Tadashi
Levitt, Harry
Description
Objective: By attaching a transducer to the aural cartilage, a relatively loud sound is audible even with a negligibly small fixation force. Previous study has identified several pathways for sound transmission by means of cartilage conduction. This investigation focused on the relative contribution of direct vibration of the aural cartilage to sound transmission in an open and in an occluded ear.
Methods: Thresholds with and without an earplug were compared for three experimental conditions: the transducer being placed on the tragus, pretragus, and mastoid. Eight volunteers with normal hearing participated.
Results: The thresholds increased with distance of the transducer from the ear canal (tragus, pretragus, mastoid, in that order). The differences were statistically significant for all conditions except for the occluded ear at 4 kHz. With the earplug inserted, the thresholds for the tragus condition were most sensitive below 2 kHz, indicating a significant contribution of direct vibration of the aural cartilage.
Conclusion: Direct vibration of the aural cartilage can enhance sound transmission. At low frequencies, cartilage conduction can deliver sound efficiently across a blockage in the ear canal. Stray airborne sound radiating from the transducer dominates cartilage conduction in the open ear at high frequencies.

Subject
Air conduction
Bone conduction
Occlusion effect
Aural cartilage
Cartilage-air
Cartilage-bone
Direct-air
Tragus
Journal information
Auris Nasus Larynx 42 ( 1 ), 15 - 19 , 2015-02
Publisher
Elsevier
Rights
© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
このエントリーをはてなブックマークに追加