Cochlear Microphonic Latency

Introduction and objective By using appropriate instrumentation, we have found that cochlear microphonics (CM) advance or delay their appearance, depending on the sound pressure that generates them. This time variation is on the order of microseconds. We have not found any reference to this behaviour, which is why we make the finding known. Materials and method We used the standard instrumentation specified for the study of CM. The method was based on the phase shift function of the CM according to the intensity of the stimulus. Results Latency was observed in CM, and we determined that latency time diminishes as the intensity of the stimulus increases. Conclusions From the sound stimulus to the bioelectric potential transduction, there is a time period of microseconds, the shorter the more powerful the stimulus. This suggests that electromechanical transduction is not a simple mechanical process.