model

Such an amazing variety!
Chambers and tubes with water driven hard enough to create standing waves!
Wow!

Look, I can drive a string with sound and change the response by changing the tension on the string.
It works, but that does not make it a good model for the ear.

Here is a link to a nice simple video. This is what the ear looks like.
This is what a model should look like.

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Tinnitus.html

You may notice that amplification is achieved by the eardrum and ossicles.
Gee, is there anyone who has evidence of resonance, as opposed to a frequency selective
geometry, in the cochlea? The coiled cone shape create a low Q cavity, right?
That's the point of the shape, no? Resonance? I don't think so.

If you unroll the cochlea, you get a cone.
Make a small clear cone, perhaps similar to the actual size of the cochlea.
Line the inside of the cone with a very soft gel, seeded with small particles, perhaps graphite.
The small particles are movement indicators.
Put the thing on an overhead projector and speak into it.
Note - the sound goes into the large diameter end.
You should see the indicators move with some frequency selectivity...

Dave Smith