Fly ears inspire microphone which could improve hearing aids

The scientists will present their results tomorrow, June 4 at the 21st International Congress on Acoustics in Montreal.

Ronald Miles, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton University, studies the hearing of Ormia ochracea, a house fly-sized insect that is native to the southeast United States and Central America.

Unlike most other flies, Ormia ochracea has eardrums that sense sound pressure and they can hear quite well, said Miles. The female flies use their directional hearing to locate singing male crickets, on which they deposit their larvae.

Previously, Miles and colleagues Daniel Robert and Ronald Hoy described the mechanism by which the fly achieves its directional hearing, despite its small size. Now Miles and his group have designed a new microphone inspired by the fly’s ears.

The new design uses a microelectromechanical microphone with a 1mm by 3mm diaphragm that is designed to rotate about a central pivot in response to sound pressure gradients.