The Dynamics of the Middle Ear and Its Relation to the Acuity of Hearing
Harvey Fletcher · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1952
The transformer action of the middle ear as measured by Bekésy is shown to be the principal cause for the low acuity of hearing for low frequencies. Because of the very low mechanical impedance across the basilar membrane at low frequencies, large acoustical pressures in front of the ear drum produce appreciable acoustical pressures across the basilar membrane. For example, at 100 cps this pressure is 30 times and at 6000 cps it is 1/10 that created across the basilar membrane.