Alternating current delivered into the scala media alters sound pressure at the eardrum.

Alternating current delivered into the scala media of the gerbil cochlea modulates the amplitude of a test tone measured near the eardrum. Variations in the electromechanical effect with acoustic stimulus parameters and observed physiological vulnerability suggest that cochlear hair cells are the biophysical origin of the process. Cochlear hair cells have traditionally been thought of as passive receptor cells, but they may play an active role in cochlear micromechanics.