Cochlear microphonics recordable at the non-shielded bedside using a new tubal transducer.
A new tubal transducer (NC-3) for measuring cochlear microphonics (CM) in extratympanic electrocochleography (ECochG) was developed by improving the common hearing aid earphone. Using a human forearm as a dummy ear, the artifact contamination generated from the NC-3 tubal transducer was tested and the possibility of measuring the CM at a non-shielded bedside was studied. An HN-5 electrode was fixed to a subject's forearm, and a sound stimulus of 90 dBnHL was delivered through the tube of the NC-3. When the earphone of the transducer was placed at a right-angle to the electrode on either a vertical or horizontal plane and the electrode was placed in direct contact with the tip of the tube, contamination from electromagnetic induction and CM-like mechanical vibration were prevented. Using the HN-5 electrode and NC-3, extratympanic ECochG-CM was recorded from normal-hearing subjects in both a shielded soundproof room and a non-shielded ordinary, quiet room. No differences were found between CMs measured in the two rooms. These results suggest that the NC-3 overcomes the shortcomings of a loudspeaker system and allows CM to be recorded accurately at non-shielded bedsides.
Nishida
H
H
Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Japan.
Komatsuzaki
A
A
Noguchi
Y
Y
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D016477:Artifacts; D001300:Audiometry, Evoked Response / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003055:Cochlear Microphonic Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D004566:Electrodes; D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D004777:Environment; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D004867:Equipment Design; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D007440:Intubation / Q000295:instrumentation; D008422:Materials Testing; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D012828:Silicones; D014159:Transducers; D014732:Vibration
D012828:Silicones