Introduction to Hearing

Welcome to the website!

Hearing is one of the five special senses, and is extremely important in everyday life. The ear is an ingenious structure, capable of detecting sounds with amplitude smaller than an atom! However, millions of us are affected by hearing loss, either age-related or via injury, so it is crucial for us to understand how this amazing sense works!

talking lipsThe following pages are designed to introduce you to the major events involved in reception of sound and how this is transduced so you can hear it. It's really fun once you get the hang of a few key steps, and hopefully by the time you've browsed the site you will be able to appreciate the fundamentals of auditory physiology. 

Visitor's notice

See how you could be harming your hearing by looking at the scale of sound on the "Nature of Sound" page...

 

Try out the hearing test on the FAQ page to assess your hearing in the comfort of your home! exclamation mark

Images courtesy of Flickr 

News

Listen Up!

13/12/2009 09:45
The European Commission is calling for a suggested maximum volume to be set on MP3 players, to protect users' hearing. The commission wants all MP3 players sold in the EU, including iPods, to share the same volume limits. This follows a report last year warning that up to 10m people in the EU face...

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Hearing Test

10/12/2009 00:27
By request a hearing test for visitors to try at home has been posted on the FAQ page.

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Website launched

07/12/2009 15:15
Our new website has been launched today. Over the next few weeks I will be listening to your feedback to try and make auditory physiology more accessible and interesting, no matter what your level of knowledge.

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Contact



References & Links

If you'd like to find out more information, check out the following resources:

 

Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 11th Edition, Tortora and Derrickson, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2006 

Vanders Human Physiology, 10th Edition, Widmaier et al, McGraw-Hill Science, 2005

BBC health advice for deafness