(Continuing on with my little thesis...) I've prepared the below sketch showing the closed loop nervous system involving the ear. All nervous systems in the body are a "closed loop", involving a process of sensation -> decision -> reaction:
Ok...I'll try to explain what my sketch means. Based on the various resources I have collected during my tinnitus experience, this is what I have learned:
The sound that we hear is picked-up by the inner hair cells, which look like this:
The sound is converted into an electrical signal using a little mechanism at the tips of the hair cells:
The signals from the neurons on the "inners" are transmitted to the brain by afferent nerves:
Notice in the above, there are also "efferent" nerve cells going back to the inner hair cells.
The closed loop is:
Sound source consisting of multiple frequencies enters ear
--> Goes into inner ear's cochlea, which is shaped like a spiral, narrow at beginning, larger at end.
--> Frequencies are absorbed along cochlea and are separated from high frequency to low frequency along the length of the cochlea.
--> Inner hair bundles are shaken by the absorbed frequency (Example: At the 4kHz location along the cochlea, the inner hair bundle cooresponding to 4kHz is shaken. Similar to a building shaken at its base in an earthquake).
--> The shaking inner hair bundles convert the mechanical vibration into an electrical signal, using a tip mechanism.
--> Electrical signal is transmitted along afferent nerves as input to inferior colliculus and superior olivary complex ("The Brain")
--> "The Brain" evaluates what the input signal means, in terms of spatial location, loudness, frequencies.
--> "The Brain" makes a decision to send back to the inner hair cells (Example: "Ok, you're doing fine guys, keep up the good work!" or "Didn't read that last one...can you crank it up guys?")
--> The signal ("output") is sent back to the inner ear using the efferent nerve circuit.
-->The inner hair cells receive the output from the brain, reacting in some way. (Example:"Hey, the brain says we're doing fine. Keep up the good work guys." or "Come on guys, Brain can't hear us! Let's crank it up!")
The Big Question: Then what is tinnitus? If the inner hairs are damaged, they can no longer pick-up the sound source and transmit the sound source signal to the brain. It would seem that, in the absence of a sound source, the input signal may simply be background noise in the circuit. Like the gain control in an amplifier, cranked-up all the way.