scholarly journals Early hominin auditory capacities

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. e1500355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Quam ◽  
Ignacio Martínez ◽  
Manuel Rosa ◽  
Alejandro Bonmatí ◽  
Carlos Lorenzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ear ◽  
Short Range ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Sensory Ecology ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Auditory Pattern ◽  
Australopithecus Africanus ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Past Life ◽  
Early Hominin

Studies of sensory capacities in past life forms have offered new insights into their adaptations and lifeways. Audition is particularly amenable to study in fossils because it is strongly related to physical properties that can be approached through their skeletal structures. We have studied the anatomy of the outer and middle ear in the early hominin taxaAustralopithecus africanusandParanthropus robustusand estimated their auditory capacities. Compared with chimpanzees, the early hominin taxa are derived toward modern humans in their slightly shorter and wider external auditory canal, smaller tympanic membrane, and lower malleus/incus lever ratio, but they remain primitive in the small size of their stapes footplate. Compared with chimpanzees, both early hominin taxa show a heightened sensitivity to frequencies between 1.5 and 3.5 kHz and an occupied band of maximum sensitivity that is shifted toward slightly higher frequencies. The results have implications for sensory ecology and communication, and suggest that the early hominin auditory pattern may have facilitated an increased emphasis on short-range vocal communication in open habitats.

3D Finite Element Modeling of Blast Wave Transmission From the External Ear to a Spiral Cochlea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Brown ◽  
John Bradshaw ◽  
Rong Z. Gan
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Basilar Membrane ◽  
Transverse Motion ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Ear Canal ◽  
Blast Overpressure ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Human Ear ◽  
Temporal Bones

Abstract Blast-induced injuries affect the health of veterans, in which the auditory system is often damaged, and blast-induced auditory damage to the cochlea is difficult to quantify. A recent study modeled blast overpressure (BOP) transmission throughout the ear utilizing a straight, two-chambered cochlea, but the spiral cochlea's response to blast exposure has yet to be investigated. In this study, we utilized a human ear finite element (FE) model with a spiraled, two-chambered cochlea to simulate the response of the anatomical structural cochlea to BOP exposure. The FE model included an ear canal, middle ear, and two and half turns of two-chambered cochlea and simulated a BOP from the ear canal entrance to the spiral cochlea in a transient analysis utilizing fluid-structure interfaces. The model's middle ear was validated with experimental pressure measurements from the outer and middle ear of human temporal bones. The results showed high stapes footplate displacements up to 28.5µm resulting in high intracochlear pressures and basilar membrane (BM) displacements up to 43.2µm from a BOP input of 30.7kPa. The cochlea's spiral shape caused asymmetric pressure distributions as high as 4kPa across the cochlea's width and higher BM transverse motion than that observed in a similar straight cochlea model. The developed spiral cochlea model provides an advancement from the straight cochlea model to increase the understanding of cochlear mechanics during blast and progresses towards a model able to predict potential hearing loss after blast.

Unusual middle-ear mischief: trans-tympanic trauma from a hair grip resulting in ossicular, facial nerve and oval window disruption

2006 ◽  
Vol 120 (9) ◽  
pp. 793-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Snelling ◽  
A Bennett ◽  
P Wilson ◽  
M Wickstead
Keyword(s):  
Facial Nerve ◽  
Tympanic Membrane ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Oval Window ◽  
Delayed Presentation ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Horizontal Portion

A case of piercing of the tympanic membrane, resulting in unusual consequences, is described. This is the first reported case of the long process of a dislocated incus resulting in trauma to the horizontal portion of a dehiscent facial nerve. Simultaneous depression of the stapes footplate resulted in a perilymph leak, but with delayed presentation.

Atypical incus necrosis: a case report and literature review

2007 ◽  
Vol 122 (10) ◽  
pp. 1124-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Choudhury ◽  
G Kumar ◽  
M Krishnan ◽  
D J Gatland
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Otitis Media ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Chronic Otitis Media ◽  
Conductive Deafness ◽  
Ossicular Replacement ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
History Of ◽  
Serous Otitis Media ◽  
Replacement Prosthesis

AbstractObjective:We report an atypical case of ossicular necrosis affecting the incus, in the absence of any history of chronic serous otitis media. We also discuss the current theories of incus necrosis.Case report:A male patient presented with a history of right unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Audiometry confirmed right conductive deafness; tympanometry was normal bilaterally. He underwent a right exploratory tympanotomy, which revealed atypical erosion of the proximal long process of the incus. Middle-ear examination was otherwise normal, with a mobile stapes footplate. The redundant long process of the incus was excised and a partial ossicular replacement prosthesis was inserted, resulting in improved hearing.Conclusion:Ossicular pathologies most commonly affect the incus. The commonest defect is an absent lenticular and distal long process of the incus, which is most commonly associated with chronic otitis media. This is the first reported case of ossicular necrosis, particularly of the proximal long process of the incus, in the absence of chronic middle-ear pathology.

Evaluation of the Carhart Effect in Congenital Middle Ear Malformation with Both an Intact External Ear Canal and a Mobile Stapes Footplate

ORL ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Sakamoto ◽  
Akinobu Kakigi ◽  
Akinori Kashio ◽  
Kaori Kanaya ◽  
Mitsuya Suzuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ear ◽  
External Ear ◽  
Ear Canal ◽  
External Ear Canal ◽  
Stapes Footplate

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF TYMPANOSCLEROSIS AND TREATMENT EFFECT

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 1450051 ◽  
Author(s):  
WENJUAN YAO ◽  
JIANWEI MA ◽  
XUEMEI LUO ◽  
BOTE LUO
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Ct Data ◽  
Element Technique ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Right

Tympanosclerosis is a typical middle ear disease, which is one of the main causes of conduction deafness. We investigate the effects of tympanosclerosis and lesion excision on sound transmission of the human ear by using finite element technique. Based on CT scan images from Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University on the normal human middle ear, numerical values of the CT scans were obtained by further processing of the images using a self-compiled program. The CT data of the right ear from a healthy volunteer were digitalized and imported into PATRAN software to reconstruct the finite element model of the ear by a self-compiling program. A frequency response analysis was made for the model, and comparative analysis was made between the calculated results and experimental data, which validated the model in this paper. The results show that the sclerosis of the ligaments and tensor muscle in the middle ear caused by force on the ossicles is larger than the normal ear and the amplitude of the stapes footplate is larger than the normal ear. This leads to a decrease of the final conductive hearing function. Furthermore, the excision of the stapes ligament and tensor tympani is good for the restoration of normal hearing. This paper provides new research perspective for clinical treatment.

Effect of Increased Inner Ear Pressure on Middle Ear Mechanics

1998 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 703-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene N. Myers ◽  
Shingo Murakami ◽  
Kiyofumi Gyo ◽  
Richard L. Goode
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Phase Angle ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Measuring System ◽  
Annular Ligament ◽  
Middle Ear Mechanics ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Temporal Bones ◽  
Inner Ear Pressure

Velocity of malleus, umbo, and stapes footplate in response to stepwise increases up to +400 mm H2O in hydrostatic pressure of the inner ear was investigated in 10 fresh human temporal bones by using a laser Doppler interferometer. The sound-pressure input was 114 dB SPL, and the frequency range was 0.4 to 5.0 kHz. Static displacement of these sites was also measured by a video measuring system. When the inner ear pressure was increased, the malleus and stapes moved outward. Amplitude of umbo velocity decreased below 1.0 kHz with a slight increase around 2.0 kHz, whereas stapes velocity decreased at all frequencies with the major effect below 1.0 kHz. The phase angle of malleus umbo velocity advanced markedly in response to the increased inner ear pressure between 1.0 and 1.4 kHz. Change in the vibration of the umbo was thought to be primarily caused by an increased stiffness of the middle ear conduction system, and that of the stapes was caused by distention of the annular ligament and increased cochlear impedance produced by the increased inner ear pressure. These changes in TM vibration and its phase angle may help detect indirectly an elevation of inner ear pressure. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1998;118:703–8.)

Hominin Postcranial Remains from Sterkfontein, South Africa, 1936-1995

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
International Workshop ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Australopithecus Africanus ◽  
Postcranial Remains ◽  
Early Hominin ◽  
To Come ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Early Human

The excavations at Sterkfontein Cave, Gauteng Province, South Africa, have yielded one of the largest collections of postcranial fossils of any hominin site. These fossils remain relatively unstudied, and few published comprehensively, despite the enormous potential of these fossils for answering questions about Australopithecus africanus paleobiology, early hominin variation, and early human evolution. This volume presents photographs, anatomical descriptions and analyses for all Sterkfontein hominin postcranial fossils that were available for study in 2009, when an international workshop of experts was convened at University of the Witwatersrand to discuss and study this material. The chapters in this volume represent a foundation for further investigations with which to interpret these and other fossils from Sterkfontein, and from all over Africa, that will be recovered in years to come.

The ear

2021 ◽  
pp. 497-518
Author(s):  
Daniel R. van Gijn ◽  
Jonathan Dunne
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Temporal Bone ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Semicircular Canals ◽  
Lateral Wall ◽  
Oval Window ◽  
External Ear ◽  
Membranous Labyrinth ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Petrous Temporal Bone

The delicate yet definitive deflections of the pinna (wing/fin) of the external ear contribute to the collection of sound. The external acoustic meatus is responsible for the transmission of sounds to the tympanic membrane, which in turn separates the external ear from the middle ear. The middle ear is an air filled (from the nasopharynx via the eustachian tube), mucous membrane lined space in the petrous temporal bone. It is separated from the inner ear by the medial wall of the tympanic cavity – bridged by the trio of ossicles. The inner ear refers to the bony and membranous labyrinth and their respective contents. The osseus labyrinth lies within the petrous temporal bone. It consists of the cochlea anteriorly, semicircular canals posterosuperiorly and intervening vestibule – the entrance hall to the inner ear whose lateral wall bears the oval window occupied by the stapes footplate.

On the hearing effects of a cholesteatoma growing: A biomechanical study

2021 ◽  
pp. 095441192110466
Author(s):  
Leonor Mendonça ◽  
Carla F Santos ◽  
Fernanda Gentil ◽  
Marco Parente ◽  
Bruno Areias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tympanic Membrane ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Chronic Otitis Media ◽  
Biomechanical Study ◽  
The Finite Element Method ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Hearing Function ◽  
Stapes Footplate

Chronic otitis media enables the appearance of a benign middle ear tumor, known as a cholesteatoma, that may compromise hearing. To evaluate the influence of a cholesteatoma growth on the hearing function, a computational middle ear model based on the finite element method was used and three different size of cholesteatoma were modeled. The cholesteatoma solidification and the consequent degradation of the ossicles were also simulated as two condition that commonly occurs during cholesteatoma evolution. A sound pressure level of 80 dB SPL was applied in the tympanic membrane and a steady state analysis was performed for frequencies from 100 Hz to 10 kHz. The displacements of both the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate were measured. The results were compared with a healthy case and it was shown that the cholesteatoma development leads to a decrease in the umbo and stapes displacements. The ossicles degradation simulation showed the higher difference comparing with the cholesteatoma in an initial stage, with lower displacements in the stapes footplate mainly for high frequencies. The observed displacement differences are directly connected to hearing loss, being possible to conclude that cholesteatoma evolution in the middle ear will lead to hearing problems, mainly in an advanced stage.

Tympanosclerosis of the middle ear: Late results of surgical treatment

1990 ◽  
Vol 104 (9) ◽  
pp. 685-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Tos ◽  
Torben Lau ◽  
Helge Arndal ◽  
Søren Plate
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ear ◽  
Ossicular Chain ◽  
Late Results ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Stapes Fixation ◽  
One Stage ◽  
Stapes Footplate ◽  
Two Stages

AbstractThe late results of one stage operation for middle ear tymanosclerosis in 73 patients during the period January 1965 to December 1980 are presented. Mean observation time was 11.2 years (range 3–20.2 years), with a follow-up rate 86 per cent. Among 64 patients with stapes fixation, 59 had removal of tympanosclerotic masses and stapes mobilization, and five cases underwent stapedectomy. The series was divided into six groups and the results analyzed. The best and most stable results occurred in the group with stapes mobilization and an intact ossicular chain followed by the group with stapes mobilization and Type II tympanoplasty with incus interposition. The poorest late results were obtained in ears with lacking stapes crura and stapes mobilization, and in ears subjected to stapedectomy. No case of post-operative sensorineural hearing loss occurred. We recommend that care is taken to preserve an intact ossicular chain at stapes mobilization performed at the same stage as myringoplasty. Also in ears with a defective ossicular chain but intact stapes with tympanosclerotic fixation we recommend stapes mobilization in one stage. In ears with fixation of the stapes footplate and defective crura, we recommend stapedectomy or stapedotomy in two stages.

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