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Related Concept Videos

Sound Intensity Level00:53

Sound Intensity Level

Humans perceive sound by hearing. The human ear helps sound waves reach the brain, which then interprets the waves and creates the perception of hearing. The loudness of the environment in which a person is located determines whether they can distinguish between different sound sources.
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
The Cochlea01:13

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.
Hearing01:31

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.
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

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...
Anatomy of the Ear01:16

Anatomy of the Ear

Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

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: May 11, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea
09:54

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

Extremely high frequency sensitivity in a 'simple' ear.

Hannah M Moir1, Joseph C Jackson, James F C Windmill

  • 1Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. hannah.m.moir@gmail.com

Biology Letters
|May 10, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The greater wax moth can hear ultrasonic sounds up to 300 kHz, the highest frequency sensitivity ever recorded in animals. This remarkable hearing range is key to the ongoing evolutionary battle between bats and moths.

Keywords:
Galleria mellonellabioacousticselectrophysiologyhearinglaser Doppler vibrometrytympanal organ

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Area of Science:

  • Bioacoustics
  • Animal communication
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Bats use ultrasonic echolocation to hunt insects.
  • Moths have evolved to detect bat calls, but their hearing limits were thought to be lower than bat frequencies.
  • The greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) is a known prey for bats.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the upper auditory frequency limit of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella.
  • To investigate the role of moth hearing in the bat-moth evolutionary arms race.

Main Methods:

  • Auditory response measurements were conducted on Galleria mellonella.
  • Ultrasonic sound stimuli were presented at frequencies up to 300 kHz.

Main Results:

  • Galleria mellonella demonstrated auditory sensitivity approaching 300 kHz.
  • This frequency sensitivity is the highest known in the animal kingdom.
  • The moth's hearing range significantly overlaps with and exceeds the highest known bat echolocation frequencies.

Conclusions:

  • The greater wax moth possesses an unprecedented auditory frequency sensitivity.
  • This heightened hearing provides a significant advantage for detecting bats, impacting the evolutionary dynamics between bats and moths.
  • Galleria mellonella is well-equipped to counter adaptations in bat echolocation calls.