Frequency-Specific Whole-Nerve Response in Man

In order to obtain a frequency-specific wholenerve response in man, the special frequencymodulated tone was developed and the responses to this tone were studied. A downward shift of 20% in the frequency of a 0.5kHz, 1kHz or 2kHz tone with an amplitude increase elicited the wholenerve response, and this response was recorded by the intratympanic needle electrode. The latency is greater for lower-frequency tones and this latency increase agrees well with the travelling delay for the frequency range used in this study. Thus, it is strongly suggested that the frequency-modulated tone in downward direction with increased amplitude yields the frequency specific whole-nerve response.