  A nonlinear nonlocal cochlear model of the transmission line type is studied
in order to capture the multitone interactions and resulting tonal suppression
effects. The model can serve as a module for voice signal processing, it is a
one dimensional (in space) damped dispersive nonlinear PDE based on mechanics
and phenomenology of hearing. It describes the motion of basilar membrane (BM)
in the cochlea driven by input pressure waves. Both elastic damping and
selective longitudinal fluid damping are present. The former is nonlinear and
nonlocal in BM displacement, and plays a key role in capturing tonal
interactions. The latter is active only near the exit boundary (helicotrema),
and is built in to damp out the remaining long waves. The initial boundary
value problem is numerically solved with a semi-implicit second order finite
difference method. Solutions reach a multi-frequency quasi-steady state.
Numerical results are shown on two tone suppression from both high-frequency
and low-frequency sides, consistent with known behavior of two tone
suppression. Suppression effects among three tones are demonstrated by showing
how the response magnitudes of the fixed two tones are reduced as we vary the
third tone in frequency and amplitude. We observe qualitative agreement of our
model solutions with existing cat auditory neural data. The model is thus
simple and efficient as a processing tool for voice signals.
