Study of fluid flow within the hearing organ

TL;DR

This paper investigates the fluid-structure interactions within the cochlea, focusing on the Reissner membrane, and explores whether modern computational methods can model these microscopic tissues' roles in hearing.

Contribution

It introduces the potential of advanced computational fluid dynamics to simulate the Reissner membrane's role in the cochlear mechanism, highlighting its previously overlooked importance.

Findings

Computational fluid dynamics can simulate interactions with microscopic inner ear tissues.

The Reissner membrane's role in auditory processing may have been underestimated.

New imaging and computational tools enable detailed modeling of cochlear microstructures.

Abstract

Georg Von Bekesy was awarded a nobel price in 1961 for his pioneering work on the cochlea function in the mammalian hearing organ. He postulated that the placement of sensory cells in the cochlea corresponds to a specific frequency of sound. This theory, known as tonotopy, is the ground of our understanding on this complex organ. With the advance of technologies, this knowledge broaden continuously and seems to confirm Bekesy initial observations. However, a mystery still lies in the center of this organ: how does its microscopic tissues exactly act together to decode the sounds that we perceive? One of these tissues, the Reissner membrane, forms a double cell layer elastic barrier separating two fundamental ducts of this organ. Yet, until recently, this membrane, was not considered in the modelling of the inner ear due to its smallness. Nowadays, objects of this size are at the reach of the medical imagining and measuring expertise. Newly available observations coupled with the increasing availability of computational resources should enable modellers to consider the impact of these microscopic tissues in the inner ear mechanism. In this report, we explore the potential fluid-structure interactions happening in the inner ear, more particularly on the Reissner membrane. This study aims at answering two separate questions. Can nowadays computational fluid dynamics solvers simulate interaction with inner ear microscopic tissues? Has the Reissner membrane function on the auditory system been overlooked?