A search for the electrophonic phenomena in the microwatt power domain

The physiological sensation of hearing can be stimulated by an alternating current applied to the head using small electrodes. The major disadvantages of systems of this type have been the large magnitude of driving voltage required, - 100 to 4000 volts, and the magnitude of power dissipated in the head, - l watt. The objectives of the paper were to investigate the basic phenomena and to attempt to find a low power method for production. Previous successful experiments were reproduced during the basic investigation phase. Selected combinations of signal types and electrodes were then tested. An extremely low·power mode of operation was found and documented. Threshold values for a single tone were found to be in the order of 10µ A at 10µWatt making an extremely small low cost hearing aid a possible application.

Department dc:contributor.department

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, California ; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

1971

Author dc:creator

• Johnson, Patrick Woodruff

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ewing, Gerald D.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/15880

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/15880