PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4.3: Hearing Loss, Inferior Colliculus, Sound
Document Summary
The function of the human ear is to detect sound structures. Sound structures - changes in mechanical pressure transmitted through solids, liquids, or gases. Sound waves have two important characteristics: frequency and amplitude. Frequency - refers to wavelength and is measured in hertz (hz), the number of cycles a sound wave travels per second. Frequency is the quality of sound waves that is associated with changes in pitch. Pitch - is the perceptual experience of sound wave frequencies. High-frequency sounds have short wavelengths and a high pitch. Low-frequency sounds have long wavelengths and a low pitch. Amplitude - of a sound wave determines its loudness. High-amplitude sound waves are louder than lower amplitude waves. Humans are able to detect sounds in the frequency range from 20 hz to 20,000 hz. Loudness a function of sound wave amplitude is typically expressed in units called decibels (db). The human ear is divided into outer, middle, and inner regions.
