Evoked acoustic emissions and cochlear microphonics in the mustache bat, Pteronotus parnellii

Abstract

In the echolocating bat, Pteronotus parnellii, otoacoustic responses at a frequency of 62 kHz are measurable in the external ear canal during continuous and after transient acoustic stimulation. These responses are interpreted to represent emissions from the cochlea. They can reach an amplitude as large as 70 dB SPL and occur in the frequency range most important for echolocation, namely on the average about 700 Hz above the constant frequency component of the orientation calls. A sharp maximum of the amplitude of cochlear microphonic potentials at about 62 kHz could be correlated with the emission frequency. In one bat an evoked otoacoustic response changed to a spontaneous otoacoustic emission. The frequency and amplitude of the evoked otoacoustic responses reversibly decreased after exposure for 1 min to continuous sounds of more than 85 dB SPL with frequencies of about 2.5-7.5 kHz above the emission frequency. Similar effects occurred during anaesthesia or cooling. A possible relation between the existence of otoacoustic emissions and morphological specializations of the cochlea is discussed.