Study of the effect of a cause of tinnitus on the resonant frequency of the outer ear

The outer ear is a part of the human auditory periphery, composed mainly of the pinna, concha and the ear canal. Its primary function is to magnify the signal of the incoming sound. The ear canal acts as an acoustic resonator that selectively amplifies and transmits certain frequencies through the ear to the middle ear. Different techniques are used for modeling the ear canal, such as physical models, finite element models and electroacoustic models. In this present work, an acoustic model is used. For human ear modeling, it is recommended that the attenuation of sound in the human ear be taken into account. The influence of the acoustic wave propagation medium through the auditory canal on the sound pressure level is analyzed in a parametric study to simulate swimmer's ear disease which can cause tinnitus. This study will permit us to conclude concerning the effect of the presence of water in the ear canal on frequency response of external ear. This type of study is missing in the literature.