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Hearing

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

Perception of Sound Waves

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

Pulse amplitude and quality

Pulse amplitude and quality

Pulse amplitude is a crucial indicator of cardiac health because it provides valuable insights into the strength of left ventricular contractions and the overall uniformity of blood circulation within the vasculature. The strength of the pulse is directly related to the force with which the heart contracts and the volume of blood being pumped.
A weak or absent pulse may indicate reduced cardiac output or poor left ventricular contraction, which can be signs of cardiovascular dysfunction or...

Auditory Perception

Auditory Perception

The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the cochlea, a...

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Age-related differences in processing dynamic information to identify vowel quality.

R A Fox¹, L G Wall, J Gokcen

¹Division of Speech and Hearing Science, Ohio State University, Columbus.

Journal of Speech and Hearing Research

|August 1, 1992

Summary

Older adults struggle more than younger adults to identify vowel quality using dynamic acoustic cues, like formant transitions, especially when speech is degraded. This highlights age-related declines in processing crucial auditory information for speech perception.

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Area of Science:

Auditory Perception
Speech Science
Gerontology

Background:

Vowel quality perception relies on dynamic acoustic information, particularly formant transitions.
Age-related changes in auditory processing may impact speech perception.
Understanding these age-related differences is crucial for addressing communication challenges in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate age-related differences in the utilization of dynamic acoustic cues (formant transitions) for vowel quality identification.
To compare the performance of young and older adults in perceiving vowel quality in both intact and acoustically degraded speech stimuli.

Main Methods:

Two versions of 61 monosyllabic English words were created: a control (whole word) and a silent-center version (vowel replaced by silence).
Normal-hearing young adults (19-25 years) and older adults (61-75 years) identified the medial vowel and surrounding consonants in both word versions.
Performance was assessed by comparing identification accuracy between age groups and stimulus conditions.

Main Results:

Older adults performed significantly worse than younger adults in identifying the medial vowel in the silent-center condition.
Older adults also showed greater difficulty identifying initial and final consonants in the degraded speech.
This suggests an age-related deficit in processing dynamic acoustic cues essential for speech perception.

Conclusions:

The findings support the hypothesis of an age-related decline in the ability to process dynamic perceptual cues for vowel quality perception.
Age-related decrements in auditory processing, specifically the use of formant transitions, negatively impact speech intelligibility.
Interventions may be needed to mitigate age-related declines in auditory processing for improved communication in older populations.