Nonlinear and active two-dimensional cochlear models: time-domain solution

A numerical solution method for two-dimensional (2-D) cochlear models in the time domain is presented. The method has particularly been designed for models with a cochlear partition having nonlinear and active mechanical properties. The 2-D cochlear model equations are reformulated as an integral equation for the acceleration of the basilar membrane (BM). This integral equation is discretized with respect to the spatial variable to yield a system of ordinary differential equations in the time variable. To solve this system, the variable step-size, fourth-order Runge-Kutta method described in Diependaal et al. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 82, 1655-1666 (1987)] is used. This method is robust and computationally efficient. The incorporation of a simple middle-ear model can be handled by this method. The method can also be extended to models in which the cochlear partition at each point along its length is represented by more than one degree of freedom.