Analyzing the Relationships between Reflection Source DPOAEs and SFOAEs Using a Computational Model

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are sounds generated by the cochlea in response to a stimulus that consists of two primary tones. DPOAEs consist of a mixture of emissions arising from two different mechanisms: nonlinear distortion and coherent reflection. Stimulus Frequency Otoacoustic Emissions (SFOAEs) are sounds generated by the cochlea in response to a pure tone; SFOAEs are commonly hypothesized to be generated due to coherent reflection. Nonlinearity of the outer hair cells (OHCs) provides nonlinear amplification to the traveling wave while reflections occur due to pre-existing micromechanical impedance perturbations. In this work, DPOAEs are obtained from a time domain computational model coupling a lumped parameter middle ear model with a multiphysics mechanical-electrical-acoustical model of cochlea. Cochlear roughness is introduced by perturbing the value of the OHC electromechanical coupling coefficient to account for the putative inhomogeneities inside the cochlea. The DPOAEs emitted in the ear canal are decomposed into distortion source and reflection source components. The reflection source component of DPOAEs is compared to SFOAEs obtained using a frequency-domain implementation of the model, to help us understand how distortion source and reflection source contributes to total DPOAEs. Moreover, the group delays of reflection sources OAEs are compared to group delays in the basilar membrane velocity to clarify the relationship between basilar membrane and OAE group delays.