Question

Nate Diaz was punched in the ear and immediately started hearing a ringing in his ears. why did physical pressure on his ears lead to the auditory changes that Nate experienced?

Answer 1

A punch in the ear can sometimes cause damge to inner ear.Damage to Inner Hair cells/Outer hair cells in case of a trauma are the reason for tinnitus(Abnormal Ringing Sensation in the Ear). Sometimes the coupling between basilar membrane and the tectorial membrane will be affected,such that the tectorial membrane might directly impinge upon the cilia of the Inner hair cells, thus causing them to depolarise.

There will also be increased neural activity in the auditory periphery leading to tinnitus generation.The afferent activity produced by the Inner Hair Cells, and the afferent activity of the Inner Hair Cells might be interpreted in the light of attempted reduction of cochlear gain via Outer Hair Cellss, giving rise to increased perceived intensity.

In a zone where IHC harm was present, any efferent restraint of the OHCs around there will be diminished because of the decreased afferent input. That efferent innervation might be imparted to neighboring OHCs collaborating flawless IHCs, because of the diffuse idea of efferent innervation , thus the unharmed territory neighboring the harmed IHCs may likewise have diminished efferent inhibition, resulting in a profoundly dynamic zone of the basilar membrane, can Lead to tonal tinnitus.