Mechanical Aspects in Human Hearing

For the description of the hearing process nonlinear models for normal, pathological and reconstructed ears were established based on multibody systems or finite elements. Nonlinearities are found in the constitutive equations of the ear drum, the ligaments and the coupling between implant and ossicles. Measurements in the clinical practice and in the lab are used to determine the dynamical behavior of the hearing organ and to derive the belonging model parameters. Simulations with various types of implants and different manners of incisions show the big influence of the points of attachment and the coupling conditions on the sound transfer. For actively driven implants the restricted coupling forces have to be regarded since distortion may lead to unacceptable results. The models allow virtual tests of passive and active implants to optimize their performance, to shorten clinical test series and an interpretation of injuries due to loud sound events.Copyright © 2005 by ASME