Acoustic model of the human outer ear

  • Authors

    • J. Melloui
    • O. Bouattane
    • J. Bakkoury
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.21579

  • The outer ear is an important part of the human auditory periphery. Its main function is to amplify the incoming sound signal. This amplifi-cation depends on the length and the shape of the ear canal and the concha.

    There are various techniques used to model the outer ear, including physical models, finite element models, and electroacoustic models. Current electroacoustic models assume a uniform or gradually varying cross-section in a discontinuous manner of the ear canal.

    In this paper, an acoustic model is developed and considers four types of acoustic resonators to take account for the variability of cross sec-tion along the outer ear. Our model is validated against results encountered in the literature. The validated model is used in a parametric study to analyze the effect of the concha and the residual ear modelling on the frequency response of the outer ear

  • References

    1. [1] P. W. Alberti, “The anatomy and physiology of the ear and hearing,†Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Canada, Tech. Rep, (2006).

      [2] J. K. Moore and F. H. J. Linthicum, “Myelination of the human auditory nerve: different time courses for Schwann cell and glial myelinâ€, Annals of Otology, 4hinology and Laryngology.110 (7), (2001), pp. 655-661. Available online: 10.1177/000348940111000711

      [3] J. A. Johnson, J. Xu, R M. Cox, “Impact of Hearing Aid Technology on Outcomes in Daily Life III: Localization,†Ear Hear.38 (6), (2017), pp.746-759. Available online: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000473

      [4] R. Z. Gan, B. Feng, and Q. Sun, “Three-dimensional finite element modelling of human ear sound transmission,†Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 32(6), (2004), pp.847-859. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ABME.0000030260.22737.53.

      [5] C. Giguere and P. C. Woodland. “A computational model of the auditory periphery for speech and hearing research. I. Ascending path,†J. Acoustic. Soc. Am. 95(1). (1993), pp. 343-349. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.408367.

      [6] M. Hiipakka, M. Tikander, and M. Karjalainen, (2010). “Modeling of external ear acoustics for insert headphones usage,†J. Audio Eng. Soc. 58(4), pp. 269-281.

      [7] Open Stax College (2015, May), Anatomy & Physiology. OpenStax CNX

      [8] R. L. Goode, M. Killion, K. Nakamura, and S. Nishihara, “New knowledge about the function of the human middle ear: Development of an improved analog model,†IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. 15(2), (1994), pp. 145-154.

      [9] H. Hudde and A. Engel, “Measuring and modeling basic properties of the human middle ear and ear canal. Part II: Ear canal, middle ear cavities, eardrum, and ossicles,†Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 84(5), (1998), pp. 894–913.

      [10] T. Thejane, F. V. Nelwamondo, T. C. Malumedzha, and T. Marwala (2011). “Otoacoustic emissions: A review on existing human auditory system modelling approaches,†in Proceedings of the 22nd IASTED International Conference on Modelling and Simulation (MS 2011), Calgary, Canada, (2011). Available: https://doi.org/10.2316/P.2011.735-096.

      [11] T. Thejane, F. V. Nelwamondo, J. E. Smit, and T. Marwala (2012). “Influence of the Auditory Canal Number of Segments and Radius Variation on the Outer Ear Frequency Response,†in Proceedings of the IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI 2012), Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, Jan 2-7, (2012). https://doi.org/10.1109/BHI.2012.6211595.

      [12] L. Zheng, Y. T. Zhang, F. S. Yang, and D. T.Ye, “Synthesis and decomposition of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions based on an active auditory model,†IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 46, (1999), pp. 1098-1106. https://doi.org/10.1109/10.784141.

      [13] G. Volandri, C. Carmignani, F. D. Puccio and P. Forte, “Finite Element Formulations Applied to Outer Ear Modeling,†Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 60(5), (2014), pp. 363-372. Available online: 10.5545/sv-jme.2014.1837

      [14] H. Deng and J. Yang, “Modeling and estimating acoustic transfer functions of external ears with or without headphones,†The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(2), (2015), pp. 664-707. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4926560.

      [15] Handbook of Sensory Physiology, S. EAG., New York, (1974), pp. 455-490.

      [16] A. G. Webster, ‘‘Acoustical impedance, and the theory of horns and of the phonograph,’’ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 5, (1919), pp. 275–282. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.5.7.275.

      [17] M. L. Munjal, “Acoustics of Ducts and Mufflers with Application to Exhaust and Ventilation System Designâ€. Wiley, New York, (1987).

      [18] P. M. Morse, “Vibration and Soundâ€, McGraw-Hill, New york, (1948).

      [19] ISO 10534-2, Acoustics—Determination of Sound Absorption Coefficient and Impedance in Impedance Tubes–Part 2: Transfer Function Method, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, (1998).

      [20] B.B. Bauer, “On the equivalent circuit of a plane wave confronting an acoustical deviceâ€, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 42, (1967), pp.1095-1097 https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1910695.

      [21] M.R. Stinson and B.W. Lawton, “Specification of the geometry of the human ear canal for the prediction of sound-pressure level distribution,†The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 85(6), (1989), pp. 2492-2503. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.397744.

      [22] M. R. Stinson, G. A. Daigle, “An eardrum impedance simulator for use with physical replicas of the human ear canal,†The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(3), (2010), pp.1868. Available online: 10.1121/1.3384499.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Melloui, J., Bouattane, O., & Bakkoury, J. (2018). Acoustic model of the human outer ear. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4), 3286-3293. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.21579