Watanabe Tomoo, Bertoli Sibylle, Probst Rudolf
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland.
Ear Hear. 2008 Oct;29(5):667-73. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181775dde.
To clarify the contribution of the skull contents to the transmission of bone vibratory stimuli, and to examine the characteristics of such stimuli, we compared auditory thresholds and distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) levels with a bone vibrator placed on various sites of the head, including the eye. The best audiometric thresholds and the highest DPOAE levels were obtained with the vibrator placed on the mastoid of the measuring side, or on the "ultrasound-window" of the temple. The audiometric thresholds obtained with the bone vibrator on the eye were similar to those of the forehead, and about 10 dB higher than at the best sites. DPOAEs were clearly present when elicited by a combination of air-conducted stimuli presented through an insert earphone and with the bone vibrator placed on the eye. These results indicate that vibratory sounds can be transmitted through the skull contents to the inner ear. The intracranial transmission pathway of the vibratory stimuli may play a significant role, particularly at low frequencies, and possibly also when the vibratory stimuli are applied on the skull bone.
为了阐明颅骨内容物对骨振动刺激传递的贡献，并研究此类刺激的特征，我们将骨振动器置于头部的各个部位（包括眼部），比较了听觉阈值和畸变产物耳声发射（DPOAE）水平。将振动器置于测量侧的乳突或颞部的“超声窗”时，可获得最佳听力阈值和最高DPOAE水平。将骨振动器置于眼部时获得的听力阈值与前额相似，比最佳部位高约10 dB。当通过插入式耳机呈现的气导刺激与置于眼部的骨振动器相结合来诱发时，DPOAE清晰可现。这些结果表明，振动声音可通过颅骨内容物传递至内耳。振动刺激的颅内传递途径可能起重要作用，尤其是在低频时，并且当振动刺激施加于颅骨时也可能如此。
