Biomechanics Scholarly Journal

The function realization of middle ear prosthesis depends on the vibration response of the prosthesis from the tympanic membrane to the stapes plate on the human auditory perception frequency, which is affected by the way the prosthesis combined with the tympanic membrane, the material, and the geometric shape. In this study, reasonable prosthetic structures had been designed for different types of ossicular chain injuries, and the frequency response characteristics were analyzed by the finite element method then. Moreover, in order to achieve better vibration frequency response, a ball structure was designed in the prosthesis to simulate its amplification function. The results showed that the middle ear prostheses constructed by different injury types can effectively transfer vibration energy. In particular, the first- and second-order resonant frequencies and response amplitudes are close to each other when ball structure models of different materials are added. Instead, the resonance frequency of the third stage formed by aluminum alloy ball materials is larger than that of the other two, which showed good response features.

 which causes mechanical vibrations between the eardrum and the ossicular chain. Secondly, the vibration signals are transmitted to the stapes plate, with the help of vestibular window, travel to the external lymph of the inner ear. Therefore, hearing comes into being. Thirdly, an ossicular chain is formed by malleus, incus, and stapes connected by joints, which is used to transmit sound waves. Moreover, the ossicular chain is an important sound transmission structure to maintain normal hearing. In particular, the damage of the three ossicles will result in impaired or interrupted sound transmission. However, when the ossicular chain is severely damaged, a replacement is needed to restore its conduction function to help restore hearing.