Physiology of Hearing
Halit Davun
5/8/20241 min read
Whispering sound: 20-25 dB
Voice volume: 50-70 dB
Loud shouting: 70-85 dB
Traffic noise: 90-100 dB
The normal human ear can hear between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
The normal human ear can hear sounds with an intensity between 0 and 120 dB.
The unit of sound intensity is the decibel (dB).
The comfortable listening sound level is between 50 and 70 dB.
Above 120 dB is uncomfortable and harmful to the human ear.
The pinna :
The first medium encountered by sound waves coming from the outside environment is the ear pinna (auricle).
The pinna serves to collect sounds and transmit them to the ear canal.
It also has the ability to filter and amplify sound due to its special structural characteristics.
The pinna conducts the sound it receives to the middle ear.
The auditory system of the middle ear consists of the eardrum and the ossicles. The eardrum regulates the intensity of the sound that will pass into the middle ear. it then transmits the sound to the ossicles. the ossicles amplify the sound to a certain extent and transmit it to the inner ear.The eustachian tube is a duct between the ear and the nose. It balances the pressure between the middle ear and the outside air.
The sound transmitted to the inner ear is carried to the brain by nerves. Everything in this system has a task. When one of them fails to do its job, we experience hearing problems.