Hearing

How sounds make their way from the source to the brain
Schematic diagram of the human ear

Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium.[1] The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory science.

Sound may be heard through solid, liquid, or gaseous matter.[2] It is one of the traditional five senses. Partial or total inability to hear is called hearing loss.

In humans and other vertebrates, hearing is performed primarily by the auditory system: mechanical waves, known as vibrations, are detected by the ear and transduced into nerve impulses that are perceived by the brain (primarily in the temporal lobe). Like touch, audition requires sensitivity to the movement of molecules in the world outside the organism. Both hearing and touch are types of mechanosensation.[3][4]

  1. ^ Plack, C. J. (2014). The Sense of Hearing. Psychology Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1848725157.
  2. ^ Jan Schnupp; Israel Nelken; Andrew King (2011). Auditory Neuroscience. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-11318-2. Archived from the original on 2011-01-29. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  3. ^ Kung C. (2005-08-04). "A possible unifying principle for mechanosensation". Nature. 436 (7051): 647–654. Bibcode:2005Natur.436..647K. doi:10.1038/nature03896. PMID 16079835. S2CID 4374012.
  4. ^ Peng, AW.; Salles, FT.; Pan, B.; Ricci, AJ. (2011). "Integrating the biophysical and molecular mechanisms of auditory hair cell mechanotransduction". Nat Commun. 2: 523. Bibcode:2011NatCo...2..523P. doi:10.1038/ncomms1533. PMC 3418221. PMID 22045002.

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