HEARING
1. Introduction of hearing: What is hearing?
- Hearing — or auditory processing — refers to the awareness of sounds and placing
meaning to those sounds. It involves a complex series of steps in which several parts of
your ear and auditory nervous system work together harmoniously.
2. Structure of hearing
Your auditory system (hearing system) consists of many different parts, including your:
● Outer ear.
● Middle ear.
● Inner ear.
● Auditory nervous system.
The Outer Ear
● The auricle (pinna) is the visible portion of the outer ear. It collects sound waves and
channels them into the ear canal (external auditory meatus), where the sound is
amplified.
● The sound waves then travel toward a flexible, oval membrane at the end of the ear
canal called the eardrum, or tympanic membrane. Sound waves cause the eardrum to
vibrate.
The Middle Ear
● The vibrations from the eardrum set the ossicles into motion. The ossicles are actually
tiny bones — the smallest in the human body. The three bones are named after their
shapes: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). The ossicles further
amplify the sound.
● The tiny stapes bone attaches to the oval window that connects the middle ear to the
inner ear. The Eustachian tube, which opens into the middle ear, is responsible for
equalizing the pressure between the air outside the ear and that within the middle ear.
The Inner Ear
● The sound waves enter the inner ear and then into the cochlea, a snail-shaped organ.
The cochlea is filled with a fluid that moves in response to the vibrations from the oval
window. As the fluid moves, 25,000 nerve endings are set into motion. These nerve
endings transform the vibrations into electrical impulses that then travel along the
eighth cranial nerve (auditory nerve) to the brain.
● The brain then interprets these signals, and this is how we hear.
● The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that is responsible for balance.
Auditory nervous system
Your auditory nerve runs from your cochlea to a station in your brain stem (known as
the nucleus). From that station, neural impulses travel to your temporal lobe — where
your brain attaches sound to meaning.
3. Mechanism of hearing:
Sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through a narrow passageway called the ear canal,
which leads to the eardrum.
The eardrum vibrates from the incoming sound waves and sends these vibrations to three tiny
bones in the middle ear. These bones are called the malleus, incus, and stapes.
The bones in the middle ear amplify, or increase, the sound vibrations and send them to the
cochlea, a snail-shaped structure filled with fluid, in the inner ear. An elastic partition runs from
the beginning to the end of the cochlea, splitting it into an upper and lower part. This partition
is called the basilar membrane because it serves as the base, or ground floor, on which key
hearing structures sit.
Once the vibrations cause the fluid inside the cochlea to ripple, a traveling wave forms along
the basilar membrane. Hair cells—sensory cells sitting on top of the basilar membrane—ride
the wave. Hair cells near the wide end of the snail-shaped cochlea detect higher-pitched
sounds, such as an infant crying. Those closer to the center detect lower-pitched sounds, such
as a large dog barking.
As the hair cells move up and down, microscopic hair-like projections (known as stereocilia)
that perch on top of the hair cells bump against an overlying structure and bend. Bending
causes pore-like channels, which are at the tips of the stereocilia, to open up. When that
happens, chemicals rush into the cells, creating an electrical signal.
The auditory nerve carries this electrical signal to the brain, which turns it into a sound that we
recognize and understand.
4. Function of hearing
A key function of human hearing is response to speech, the principal way we connect and
communicate, emotionally and intellectually. Language highlights the vital importance of
hearing in brain development. Music itself graphically illustrates how complex and powerful
hearing perception can be. We’re often deeply affected as melody, harmony, and rhythm
engage widespread brain areas involved in movement, attention, memory, emotion, and
language.
5. Application of hearing in food sensory:
a. The role of sense perception in sensory evaluation of food and an example:
Sound intensity contributes to the overall perception of the product: the difference in sound
intensity when the food is broken or broken (dried crispy/fresh crispy) is sensory data to
evaluate the crispness and texture. freshness of product. For example, when chewing a snack,
the sound gives us a feeling of the crispiness and dryness of the product. However, when we
chew a piece of fresh apple, we feel a crisp, fresh sound, accompanied by juice. This contributes
to a good assessment of the structure of the food product while chewing.
b. Product quality affects the auditory perception of food
Key Points on Product Quality and Auditory Perception:
- Auditory Cues and Freshness:
The sound produced by food during consumption—such as the crispness of a potato chip or the
crunch of a carrot—can signal its freshness and quality.
Higher-quality products tend to have distinct and desirable sounds (e.g., a louder or sharper
crunch), which consumers associate with superior freshness.
- Material and Packaging Sounds:
The sounds associated with opening product packaging (e.g., a pop or snap) can also impact the
perceived quality of the product. A satisfying "pop" when opening a soda bottle, for instance,
can reassure consumers of its freshness and carbonation levels.
- Expectation and Consistency:
Auditory perception plays a role in fulfilling customer expectations. A mismatch between
expected and actual sounds (e.g., a soggy cracker that doesn't crunch) can lead to
dissatisfaction and perceptions of lower quality.
