Analysis of an impulse response measured at the basilar membrane of the chinchilla.

In a recent paper [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133, 2224-2239 (2013)], Shera and Cooper report on the impulse response of the basilar membrane (BM) of a chinchilla, a waveform which shows repetitive bursts. They explain the bursts in terms of repeated coherent reflection at BM discontinuities and partial reflection at the stapes ("coherent reflection filtering"). Here the same waveform is examined in detail, highlighting features which indicate that the coherent reflection model, with calls for the same repetitive process to act on each successive burst, does not fully account for the shape of the measured impulse response.