THE MECHANISM OF THE ELECTROPHONIC EFFECT

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Abstract
It is proposed that the name "electrophonic effect" be limited to tonal sensations elicited by the action of alternating currents directly on the cochlea. A study is made of the mechanism underlying the "electrophonic effect" as defined above. It is found that beats may arise when an electrical and a mechanical stimulus are applied and limited to the same ear. The psychologic attributes ascribed to the sensations produced by the interaction of 2 stimuli with varying degrees of difference in their frequencies are essentially similar whether 2 mechanical or a mechanical and an electrical stimulus are employed. It is possible to cancel the tonal sensation produced by an electrical stimulus by applying to the same ear a mechanical stimulus of the same frequency and magnitude as the first, but differing from it in phase by 180[degree]. These facts are considered evidence that the 2 types of stimuli activate the same cochlear element and that the activating force in both instances is mechanical. Evidence that the basilar membrane is critically damped is afforded by the observation that when 2 distinct tones differing in frequency by a few cycles are simultaneously presented to the same ear and the phase of one of them abruptly reversed, an interruption in the continuity of both stimuli is observed.

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