PHGY 209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Incus, Hair Cell, Saccule

• School: McGill University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: PHGY 209
• Professor: Anne Weschler

Document Summary

Sound is pressure waves- the pattern of the air molecules around you. The period of the sinusoidal sound gives the patter (with the frequency). The amplitude gives loudness because greater difference in pressure: normal autability curve- provides your own sensitivity to frequencies. 20 log (sound pressure/ reference pressure: every 20 db is an increase in magnitude by a factor of 10. Your sensitivity is the lowest between around 4 kilohz: there is a pain threshold where the amplitude is too much. The damage threshold- loud noises are damaging and the damage threshold is below the pain threshold so you can damage your auditory system without feeling pain. Damage: anatomy of the ear, the sound enters through the external auditory canal. The pinna is designed to reflect certain frequencies into the external auditory canal- the ability to distinguish where the sound is coming from.