Numerical simulation of acoustic streaming within the cochlea

This paper is concerned with the numerical examination of acoustically driven flows within the inner ear on the basis of a computational model. For this purpose, a comprehensive system of differential equations and boundary conditions is deduced, which takes, to a satisfactory extent, the complexity of the main biophysical mechanisms of the cochlea into account. Beside an appropriate representation of the fluid dynamics, also the biomechanical properties of the basilar membrane as well as the internal amplification mechanism caused by the outer hair cell motility are considered in order to get realistic estimates of the structure and magnitude of the mean flow field. The present paper introduces a two-stage approach for the numerical evaluation of the solutions on the basis of the finite element method. The first step deals with the calculation of the linear acoustic reaction whereas the second step is associated with the determination of a first-order approximation of the acoustic streaming field. It is shown that the results are essentially consistent with measurements as well as analytical and experimental considerations. In addition, the numerical estimates of the acoustically driven flows provide an instrument for a more profound discussion on their physiological impact.