How We Hear

How we Hear

Understand Ear and Sound

Human beings have five senses. Every sense receptor is a complex piece of bioengineering. This natural marvel does not have a manmade or mechanical counterpart. It receives and converts sounds of nature, music, conversations with family and friends, etc. into legible sounds that we can relate to.

Additionally, human ears act as a natural warning system. It is capable of identifying oncoming traffic, processing a possible break-in, alerting when there are other possible dangers, etc. Thus, hearing is a critical human sense and we must not wait until we experience hearing loss in order to remind us about its importance.

Life is not worth living without the sounds and voices that matter!

Ear

The human ear has three parts:

  • The outer ear (pinna, ear canal and eardrum)
  • The middle ear (the ossicular chain)
  • The inner ear (semicircular canal cochlea)

The outer ear collects the sound waves and transmits them towards the eardrum, or tympanum. The tympanum vibrates and these vibrations are carried inside and amplified further by the ossicular chain. Further amplification takes place in the inner ear and the sensations are taken to the brain for analysis.

Sound

Sound waves are like ripples created on a pond’s surface when it is disturbed by a stone. Sound waves, like ripples, move out as differences occur in air pressure (compressed air and rarefied air). When these fluctuations hit the eardrum, they manifest as sound.

Sound travels as waves of pressure through air at a speed of 740 miles (approx. 1184 km) per hour. There are two features of sound that we can measure — pitch and intensity.

Pitch, also known as frequency, is a measure of how rapidly the waves change from above to below the ambient pressure. In other words, it is a measure of how many crests pass a point in a second. The greater the number, the higher is the pitch.

Intensity (loudness or amplitude) is a measure of how far the waves are above or below the ambient pressure. The greater the amplitude, the louder is the sound. Pressure levels of sound are measured as decibels (dB).

Hearing loss can have a heavy impact on our lifestyle because we rely on our hearing abilities for our day-to-day tasks. A consult an ENT & Audiologist to rule out the cause of hearing loss. If your hearing loss is due to a problem in outer or middle ear it is medically treated either with medicine or surgery. If the problem is in the inner ear along with medicine you should use hearing aids so that your condition does not get worse. Using good-quality hearing aids will help you listen better and take good care of your hearing health. This will prevent your mild hearing loss from getting converted into moderate, severe, or profound hearing loss.

While choosing or shortlisting hearing aids, remember that not all hearing aids deal with the type of hearing loss you might be suffering from at the moment. Hearing aids offer multiple features, and you should compare them while selecting a hearing aid. Talk to an Audiologist and learn about your condition before you start looking for hearing aids. Random selection, in this case, is not going to help you.