1103 Influence of the sound pressure generated in the external auditory meatus on sound perception when the skull is vibrated by an actuator
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When a bone is vibrated by a vibrator, we can perceive a sound even if conductive hearing loss exists. The applied vibrationis supposed to be transmitted to the cochlea through the temporal bone, and this sound path is called bone-conduction. However, the real sound paths of the vibration applied to the bone have not been clarified. In this study, the subjective sound pressure perceived by subjects and the sound pressure generated in the external auditory meatus (EAM) were measured when the zygomatic process of temporal bone was vibrated by a piezoelectric vibrator. The level of sound pressure in EAM was nearly equal to the subjective sound pressure level at 1kHz. This result suggests that subjects with normal middle ear perceive not only bone-conducted sound but also air-conducted sound through the middle ear when the zygomatic process was vibrated at 1kHz.
