Effects of Specific Cochlear Pathologies on the Auditory Functions : Modelling, Simulations and Clinical Implications

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to simulate the effects of specific pathologies in the human inner ear, caused by ageing and acoustic overstimulation, on the auditory processing. A major part of the present thesis is dedicated to modelling the mammalian cochlear structures and biophysical processes in form of a physiologically-based signal transmission line. It is shown that the model is capable of reproducing the experimental data recorded from aged and noisedamaged animal cochleae. Furthermore, to validate the clinical implications of the modelling work for humans, the final part of the thesis is allocated to a clinical study comprising of psychoacoustic, physiological and cognitive tests.