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In humans, sound waves funnel into the ear via the external ear canal and reach the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The compression and rarefaction of these waves set this thin membrane in motion, causing sympathetic vibration through the middle ear bones (the ossicles : malleus, incus, and stapes), the basilar fluid in the cochlea, and the hairs ...
In general, frequency components of a sound determine its "color", its timbre. When speaking about the frequency (in singular) of a sound, it means the property that most determines its pitch. [6] Higher pitches have higher frequency, and lower pitches are lower frequency. The frequencies an ear can hear are limited to a specific range of ...
Ultrasonic hearing is a recognised auditory effect which allows humans to perceive sounds of a much higher frequency than would ordinarily be audible using the inner ear, usually by stimulation of the base of the cochlea through bone conduction. Normal human hearing is recognised as having an upper bound of 15–28 kHz, [1] depending on the person.
The eardrum is an airtight membrane, and when sound waves arrive there, they cause it to vibrate following the waveform of the sound. Cerumen (ear wax) is produced by ceruminous and sebaceous glands in the skin of the human ear canal, protecting the ear canal and tympanic membrane from physical damage and microbial invasion. [5]
The absolute threshold of hearing (ATH), also known as the absolute hearing threshold or auditory threshold, is the minimum sound level of a pure tone that an average human ear with normal hearing can hear with no other sound present. The absolute threshold relates to the sound that can just be heard by the organism.
Although there are many complexities relating to the transmission of sounds, at the point of reception (i.e. the ears), sound is readily dividable into two simple elements: pressure and time. These fundamental elements form the basis of all sound waves. They can be used to describe, in absolute terms, every sound we hear.
Ear protection, if used correctly, can reduce noise to safer levels, but often, providing them is not sufficient to prevent hearing loss. Engineering noise out and other solutions such as proper maintenance of equipment can lead to noise reduction, but further field studies on resulting noise exposures following such interventions are needed.
The human ear can nominally hear sounds in the range 20 to 20 000 Hz. The upper limit tends to decrease with age; most adults are unable to hear above 16 000 Hz. The lowest frequency that has been identified as a musical tone is 12 Hz under ideal laboratory conditions. [6] Tones between 4 and 16 Hz can be perceived via the body's sense of touch.