Geal-Dor Miriam, Sohmer Haim
Speech & Hearing Center, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91200, Israel.
Department of Communication Disorders, Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem 91200, Israel.
Audiol Res. 2024 Feb 16;14(1):196-203. doi: 10.3390/audiolres14010018.
Soft tissue conduction is a mode of hearing which differs from air and bone conduction since the soft tissues of the body convey the audio-frequency vibrations to the ear. It is elicited by inducing soft tissue vibrations with an external vibrator applied to sites on the body or by intrinsic vibrations resulting from vocalization or the heartbeat. However, the same external vibrator applied to the skin sites also excites cutaneous mechanoreceptors, and attempts have been made to assist patients with hearing loss by audio-tactile substitution. The present study was conducted to assess the contribution of the auditory nerve and brainstem pathways to soft tissue conduction hearing. The study involved 20 normal hearing students, equipped with ear plugs to reduce the possibility of their response to air-conducted sounds produced by the external vibrator. Pure tone audiograms and speech reception (recognition) thresholds were determined in response to the delivery of the stimuli by a clinical bone vibrator applied to the cheek, neck and shoulder. Pure tone and speech recognition thresholds were obtained; the participants were able to repeat the words they heard by soft tissue conduction, confirming that the auditory pathways in the brain had been stimulated, with minimal involvement of the somatosensory pathways.
软组织传导是一种听觉模式,与气导和骨导不同,因为身体的软组织将音频振动传递到耳朵。它是通过用外部振动器施加于身体部位来诱发软组织振动,或由发声或心跳产生的内在振动引发的。然而,将同一个外部振动器应用于皮肤部位也会刺激皮肤机械感受器,并且已经有人尝试通过听觉-触觉替代来帮助听力损失患者。本研究旨在评估听神经和脑干通路对软组织传导听力的贡献。该研究涉及20名听力正常的学生,他们佩戴耳塞以降低对外部振动器产生的气导声音做出反应的可能性。通过将临床骨振动器应用于脸颊、颈部和肩部来传递刺激,测定纯音听力图和言语接受(识别)阈值。获得了纯音和言语识别阈值;参与者能够重复他们通过软组织传导听到的单词,证实大脑中的听觉通路受到了刺激,而体感通路的参与最少。