Figure 3.

(A) The cochlear box model. For visual clarity the organ of Corti is only pictured at one cross section. These structures are distributed down the length of the cochlea. (B) A schematic of the transverse section of the OCC microstructure. The hair bundles of the OHCs are shown connecting the RL to the TM through torsional springs (spring constant $k_{\mathit{hb}}$). The TM is anchored to the spiral limbus via dashpot and spring $k_{\mathit{tms}}$. As outlined in the text, we used a Lagrangian formulation to obtain the coupled equations of motion relating the electrical and mechanical degrees of freedom of OCC to the fluid pressure. (C) Schematic of an OHC and the mechano-electric-transducer (MET) apparatus. The OCC cross-sections are coupled mechanically through longitudinal coupling in the TM and BM, the 3D-fluid pressure, and through electrical coupling (the three cable model in the scala). (TM tectorial membrane, OHC outer hair cell, RL reticular lamina, BM basilar membrane).