Perception Mechanisms of Bone-Conducted Ultrasound Assessed by Acoustic Characteristics in the External Auditory Meatus

Acoustic fields/vibrations in the external auditory meatus (ear canal) and tympanic membrane (TM) under bone-conducted ultrasonic stimulation were measured to elucidate the contributions of the osseotympanic and inertial routes to bone-conducted ultrasonic (BCU) perception. Evidence showing nonlinear distortions, especially the generation of audible subharmonics in the outer and middle ear, was examined. In the results, we did not find any audible signals corresponding to the subjective pitch of a BCU tone in the acoustic fields for the auditory meatus and TM vibrations. This suggests that nonlinear distortions in the osseotympanic and inertial routes do not contribute to bone-conducted ultrasonic perception. Specific properties of perception may be related to mechanisms in the cochlea or afferent neural pathway.