Abstract
The summating potential (SP) recorded from the scala tympani increased eight to ten-fold during spring (Fig. 1). The sensitivity of hearing as judged by the gross response components also increased in the same period (Figs. 2, 3). The overall effect, from an optimum in spring, was an oblique shift in the intensity curves of all gross response components to the poorer responses at other times of the year. Mechanisms explaining the seasonal changes, in terms of a change to the electrical tuning properties of cochlear hair cells, are evident in (1) the oblique shift in the intensity curves, (2) increased temperature sensitivity of the SP (Figs. 5, 6), (3) a change in the relationship between the fundamental and frequency doubling a.c. response with overall changes in sensitivity (Fig. 7), and (4) a significant association between increased hearing responsiveness and metabolic rate (Figs. 8, 9).
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