The Impact of the Fluid–Solid Coupling Behavior of Macro and Microstructures in the Spiral Cochlea on Hearing

Abstract

The cilia of the outer hair cells (OHCs) are the key microstructures involved in cochlear acoustic function, and their interactions with lymph in the cochlea involve complex, highly nonlinear, coupled motion and energy conversions, including macroscopic fluid–solid coupling. Recent optical measurements have shown that the frequency selectivity of the cochlea at high sound levels is entirely mechanical and is determined by the interactions of the hair bundles with the surrounding fluid. In this paper, an analytical mathematical model of the spiral cochlea containing macro- and micromeasurements was developed to investigate how the phonosensitive function of OHCs' motions is influenced by the macrostructural and microstructural fluid–solid coupling in the spiral cochlea. The results showed that the macrostructural and microstructural fluid–solid coupling exerted the radial forces of OHCs through the flow field, deflecting the cilia and generating frequency-selective properties of the microstructures. This finding showed that microstructural frequency selectivity arises from the radial motions of stereocilia hair bundles and enhances the hearing of sound signals at specific frequencies. It also implied that the macrostructural and microstructural fluid–solid couplings influence the OHCs' radial forces and that this is a key factor in the excitation of ion channels that enables their activity in helping the brain to detect sound.