WordNet
n. a composite sensory nerve supplying the hair cells of the vestibular organ and the hair cells of the cochlea [syn: acoustic nerve, vestibulocochlear nerve, nervus vestibulocochlearis, eighth cranial nerve]
Usage examples of "auditory nerve".
These respond to the stimulation of the hair cells by the sound waves and carry their impulses to the auditory nerve, which in turn transmits its message, via various portions of the brain stem, to the auditory-center in the temporal lobe of the cerebrum.
When hair cell cilia are bent by vibrations, they send impulses along the auditory nerve to the brain.
This takes care of their sense of balance but it is not connected to anything which could be a functioning auditory nerve.
Four auditory nanorecorders were tapped into his auditory nerve system.
He didn't want to tell her that, since he hadn't set the t-jack to keep a line open for normal external input-that is, stuff going from his actual ear to his auditory nerve-he hadn't heard her, any more than he would have if she'd been shouting his name in Hawaii.
Her auditory nerve had been overwhelmed by a deafening, drawn-out screech that howled from the walls around her, followed by a sudden, harsh clap.
Whispers impinging directly upon her auditory nerve tell her that the Three Sectors of Consciousness are monitoring her and discussing events.
The concussion that beat on his ears was so intense that it paralyzed the auditory nerve almost before it could be recorded as sound.