The Contribution of the External Auditory Meatus to Human Auditory Sensitivity.
Abstract
Support for, and a refinement of, the hypothesis that divers hear primarily by bone conduction was provided by Hollien and Brandt. To further test this hypothesis, the thresholds of seven submerged listeners were obtained (at frequencies of 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 4.0 and 8.0 kHz) under three different conditions: (1) while they wore a full 3/16 in. wet suit with no hood, (2) while wearing a full 3/16 in. wet suit with a 3/16 in. hood and (3) while wearing a full 3/16 in. wet suit and hood with 1/4 in. rubber tubes passing through the hood to the external auditory meatuses. There were no significant differences between the conditions involving the use of a hood but thresholds were significantly lower in the middle and high frequencies for the no-hood condition. These findings provide further support for the hypothesis that underwater sound energy is transduced by bone conduction rather than by the normal middle ear linkage. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- AD0751664
Entities
People
- Harry Hollien
- Howard B. Rothman
- Stephen Feinstein
Organizations
- University of Florida