A bionic cochlea includes a fluid filled vessel having a window disposed in one of its walls and a flexible fluid filled tube in fluid communication at one end with the vessel through the window. The other end of the tube has a diaphragm in communication with the ossicles of a mammalian ear. The diaphragm flexes when exposed to an acoustic pulse to produce an acoustic pressure pulse in the fluid inside the tube and vessel. A plurality of piezoelectric nanowires is disposed within the fluid filled vessel. The nanowires vibrate in response to at least one predetermined wavelength in the acoustic pressure pulse transmitting through the fluid and produce electrical signals. Electrical wires in communication with the nanowires receive the electrical signals and pass these signals to the mammalian auditory nerve.
