auditory nerve

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. either one of the eighth pair of cranial nerves, consisting of sensory fibers that conduct impulses from the organs of hearing and from the semicircular canals to the brain.

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auditory nerve Scientific  

1. Either of the eighth pair of cranial nerves that carries sensory impulses from the ear to the brain. The auditory nerve transmits information related to sound and balance.

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auditory nerve Cultural  

1. The nerve that connects the inner ear with the brain. One of its two branches carries the sensation of sound to the brain; the other is involved in maintaining balance.

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Etymology

Origin of auditory nerve

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

By measuring the response of their auditory nerve and brainstem, the researchers found that chronic tinnitus was not only associated with a loss of auditory nerve but that participants showed hyperactivity in the brainstem.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

But sensorineural hearing loss is caused by a problem occurring in the inner ear, auditory nerve and brain.

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022

Movement of stereocilia on hair cells results in an action potential that travels along the auditory nerve.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Rather than amplifying sound, as hearing aids do, cochlear implants send electrical signals directly to the auditory nerve, via an implant in the inner ear combined with an external sensor.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2022

The enigma is solved if we assume that every note of definite pitch has its special string in this pianoforte of Corti, and, therefore, its special branch of the auditory nerve attached to that string.

From Popular scientific lectures by Mach, Ernst