In the fifty years since Békésy was awarded the Nobel Prize, cochlear physiology has
blossomed. Many topics that are now current are things Békésy could not have imagined. In
this review we start by describing progress in understanding the origin of cochlear gross
potentials, particularly the cochlear microphonic, an area in which Békésy had extensive
experience. We then review progress in areas of cochlear physiology that were mostly
unknown to Békésy, including:(1) stereocilia mechano-electrical transduction, force …