A phenomenological model for displacement of a point on the basilar membrane is developed by formulating a system of nonlinear differential equations:ẍi(t) + 2Di[1 + ηẋi2(t)]ẋi(t) + ω0i2xi(t) = Cxi−1(t), fori= 1, 2, …, 10, wherex0(t) is the input (stapes displacement) andx10(t) is the output. This model, which behaves effectively linearly at low levels and nonlinearly at high levels, shows that asinglenonlinear system is adequate to account for the followingfrequency‐dependentnonlinear phenomena of the peripheral auditory system: (1) limiting of the output level; (2) decrease ofQwith increasing input level; (3) decrease of the most effective frequency with increasing input level; (4) changes in phase angle of the output with input level; (5) changes in shape of the click response waveform with input level; (6) two‐tone suppression withf1=CFandf2>CF; (7) generation of the combination tone 2f1−f2in response to two tonesf1