Auditory distortion

Abstract

The auditory system responds to pulsatile energy flow from the environment. Compression and rarefaction of gaseous molecular mass is transduced into electromechanical forms, in order to produce an effect at the cortical level. For energy input to have consistent meaning, transduction must preserve information coded within the pattern of energy flow. Distortion, or alteration of the original form, occurs in many ways throughout the chain of generation/transmission/reception/interpretation. Parameters of energy flow are discussed, and distortion of each parameter is presented in a context which permits the development of a distortion-based analysis of common clinical problems in otolaryngology.