Frequency shifts in a local oscillator model for the generation of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions by the lizard ear

Introduction: In order to understand human hearing, it helps to understand how the ears of lower vertebrates, like, for instance, lizards, function. A key feature in common is that the ears of both humans and lizards emit faint, pure tones known as spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs). More than four decades after their discovery, the mechanism underlying these emissions is still imperfectly understood, although it is known that they are important for improving the sensitivity and sharpness of hearing. In both humans and lizards, the frequencies of SOAEs change by a few percent when static pressure is applied to the tympanic membrane. For the human ear, this observation is normally explained by a so-called global oscillator model (such as with Shera's coherent reflection model), in which the emissions result from standing waves, and external pressure changes the boundary conditions - the stiffness of the oval and round windows - which then has a global effect on the SOAE frequencies.

Methods: Here we investigate how changing parameters of an earlier developed local oscillator model for the lizard ear can change the frequencies of the SOAEs. A major feature of the model is that each oscillator is coupled only to its immediate neighbours. The oscillators then cluster into groups of identical frequency, and each of these so-called frequency plateaus can be taken to represent an SOAE.

Results: Even though the natural (unperturbed) frequencies of all the oscillators remain fixed, here we find for several model parameters that by slightly changing their value the frequency plateaus - the SOAEs - shift by a few percent. Plots of how these changes alter SOAE frequencies are given, and their magnitude corresponds well with observations of SOAE changes in lizards.

Discussion: Investigation of the influence of the change of parameters in an earlier developed local oscillator model for the lizard ear shows that a local oscillator model can explain small SOAE frequency changes as well as a global oscillator model.

Keywords: Basilar papilla; Coupled oscillators; Frequency plateaus; Hair cells; Inner ear; Self-sustaining oscillation.