auditory nerve

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. either one of the eighth pair of cranial nerves, consisting of sensory fibers that conduct impulses from the organs of hearing and from the semicircular canals to the brain.

---

auditory nerve Scientific  

1. Either of the eighth pair of cranial nerves that carries sensory impulses from the ear to the brain. The auditory nerve transmits information related to sound and balance.

---

auditory nerve Cultural  

1. The nerve that connects the inner ear with the brain. One of its two branches carries the sensation of sound to the brain; the other is involved in maintaining balance.

---

Etymology

Origin of auditory nerve

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

The number of synapses that transmit the signals to the auditory nerve was also reduced.

From Science Daily • Oct. 5, 2023

The electrodes stimulate the auditory nerve directly, bypassing the damaged hair cells.

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022

Movement of stereocilia on hair cells results in an action potential that travels along the auditory nerve.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Rather than amplifying sound, as hearing aids do, cochlear implants send electrical signals directly to the auditory nerve, via an implant in the inner ear combined with an external sensor.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2022

The body may be compared to a harp of two chords,—the optic nerve and the auditory nerve.

From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Flammarion, Camille