11/18/2023 0 Comments Bones of skull![]() However, one of the current challenges for engineers is delivering sounds at higher frequencies. Such technologies could potentially deliver higher quality sounds without blocking the ear passage. ![]() Headphones, hearing aids and internet-based interactive technologies such as Google Glass are being developed by engineers to deliver sound via bone conduction. The new research shows that otoacoustic emissions can involve bone conduction, which could enable doctors to fine-tune their method and improve the way they detect hearing defects.Īn industrial application for the research could involve finding better ways to harness bone conduction to deliver sounds via new technologies. However, it has been unclear how these sounds are generated. These sounds are generated by the inner ear and they are a sign of healthy hearing. Currently, doctors carry out a simple, non-invasive examination using a microphone that they insert in the ear canal to record sounds called otoacoustic emissions. This is because the process is more effective at transmitting lower frequency sounds to the brain, which means that we perceive our voice as being deeper than what it is.”Ī potential clinical application for the team’s research is the development of better tests to determine hearing impairments in newborn babies and children. Interestingly, bone conduction plays a role in how we recognise our voice. This is because we perceive our voice differently to how others hear it. The temporal bone transmits the vibrations to the basilar membrane in the inner ear and tiny bundles of hair, each finely tuned to detect sounds at different frequencies, transmit the vibrations to the brain for decoding.ĭr Reichenbach adds: “Many of us cringe when we play back a recording of our own voice. In the new study, the team describes how sound, transmitted as vibrations through the skull, travels to the temporal bone, which is situated at the sides and base of the skull. Our study describes the process in more detail, which could help manufacturers find better ways of harnessing bone conduction to deliver higher quality sound.” However, until recently we really haven’t had a clear picture about how bone conduction works. Many companies such as Google are beginning to exploit bone conduction as a way of sending sounds to our brain via wearable interactive technologies such as Google Glass. ![]() Most people may not realise that our skull also transmits sound to our brain. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.ĭr Tobias Reichenbach, from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, says: “The ear is an important organ for helping us to perceive the world around us. The team says that understanding this process could pave the way for future clinical and industrial applications involving improvements in a range of technologies that use bone conduction to transmit sound. Now researchers from Imperial College London and the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Germany have developed a model that more clearly explains how bone conduction works. ![]()
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