A mechanical lumped-element model of the human middle ear for bone conduction hearing

A mechanical lumped-element model of the human middle ear for bone conduction hearing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A mechanical lumped-element model of the human middle ear for bone conduction hearing Xiying Guan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262568/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Bone conduction (BC) is an important modality of hearing. It enables us to differentiate conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, perceive sounds despite a disabled middle ear, and listen to conversation and music privately without blocking the ear canal. Yet the mechanism underlying BC is not fully understood mainly because the bone-conducted vibrations in the skull simultaneously stimulate the outer ear, the middle ear, and the cochlea. The nature of the parallel stimulation on those interconnected parts makes it difficult to contemplate the dynamics in each compartment and the influences they impose on each other. In the present study, a computational lumped-element human ear model for BC is developed. The model comprises lumped mechanical components – masses, springs and dampers – to represent structures such as eardrum, ossicles, ligaments, joints, and cochlear fluid. The parameters of those components are determined by fitting the simulated ossicular vibrations to the measured counterparts reported by Stenfelt et al., the most extensive BC middle-ear dataset. The results show that the model-predicted vibrations of the umbo and stapes generally match the experimental results not just in the normal ear condition but also after various perturbations such as adding mass on the eardrum and separating the incudostapedial joint. It is believed this is the first lumped-element model that can correctly simulate the vibrations of the human middle ear in BC. The model can serve as the bedrock not only for better understanding the dynamics of the entire ear in BC but also for developing new diagnostics for middle-ear conditions and assisting design of novel hearing prostheses. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Auditory system Biological sciences/Biophysics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 08 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Apr, 2025 Editor invited by journal 04 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6262568","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":439942728,"identity":"df8c210b-5d84-41c7-ac1f-994f5adf95d7","order_by":0,"name":"Xiying Guan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgaGA1Am4wOYoASxWpgNiNOCBNjgKvFqMTjOY3i44BeD3YbjZ49V89QczuNnYD54mwePFslmHoPDM/sYkjecyUu7zXPscLFkA1uyNT4t/MxALbw9DMkGB3LMbuewHU7ccIDHTBqfFja4lvNvzIpz/h1O3H+A/xteLWBbeH4w2BncyDFjzm0D2sLAw4ZXi2QzW8Fh3gaGBMkbb4yl//alJ844zGZsOQePFoPzhzd/5vnDYM93Psfw44xv1on97c0Pb7zBo4WBgcOAgbHtf2IDhNcMjlwCgP0BAwPQFiivjqD6UTAKRsEoGHkAAHxeTOMyU/7YAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Wayne State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiying","middleName":"","lastName":"Guan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-19 14:38:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262568/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262568/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09614-7","type":"published","date":"2025-07-28T16:21:11+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88268827,"identity":"69bea1ed-c88d-4d4e-9e81-54f5b4e38fd6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-04 16:52:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1473605,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6262568/v1_covered_3a2077bd-6f8c-4f4d-853b-60bf2f73d300.pdf"},{"id":81413932,"identity":"392d0d0e-b415-4bbc-9761-d88295e9478a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-25 21:58:20","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1842145,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformation.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6262568/v1/8d336957003a37b12b923782.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A mechanical lumped-element model of the human middle ear for bone conduction hearing","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262568/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262568/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBone conduction (BC) is an important modality of hearing. It enables us to differentiate conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, perceive sounds despite a disabled middle ear, and listen to conversation and music privately without blocking the ear canal. Yet the mechanism underlying BC is not fully understood mainly because the bone-conducted vibrations in the skull simultaneously stimulate the outer ear, the middle ear, and the cochlea. The nature of the parallel stimulation on those interconnected parts makes it difficult to contemplate the dynamics in each compartment and the influences they impose on each other.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the present study, a computational lumped-element human ear model for BC is developed. The model comprises lumped mechanical components \u0026ndash; masses, springs and dampers \u0026ndash; to represent structures such as eardrum, ossicles, ligaments, joints, and cochlear fluid. The parameters of those components are determined by fitting the simulated ossicular vibrations to the measured counterparts reported by Stenfelt et al., the most extensive BC middle-ear dataset.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results show that the model-predicted vibrations of the umbo and stapes generally match the experimental results not just in the normal ear condition but also after various perturbations such as adding mass on the eardrum and separating the incudostapedial joint.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is believed this is the first lumped-element model that can correctly simulate the vibrations of the human middle ear in BC. 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