The beautiful, mysterious science of how you hear | Jim Hudspeth

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Have you ever wondered how your ears work? In this delightful and fascinating talk, biophysicist Jim Hudspeth demonstrates the wonderfully simple yet astonishingly powerful mechanics of hair cells, the microscopic powerhouses that make hearing possible — and explains how, when it's really quiet, your ears will begin to beam out a spectrum of sounds unique to you.

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23 Comments on The beautiful, mysterious science of how you hear | Jim Hudspeth

  1. It has just occurred to me that humans like music
    For hours we sit in chairs, lie down, stand around, or shake violently

    While a device nearby vibrates

    wtf….

  2. This was really great! I only wish we got to see the entire process of hearing and how a soundwave hits the ear drum then somehow gets translated through the stirrup etc. and all this other stuff into what we hear. I have a vested interest and that’s why I want to learn. Sometimes I think I get swollen (I think it’s the protective muscle for loud noise) in the middle ear and hear distorted sound and off-key music for a week on one side; seems to be triggered by crunchy food. Let me tell you, you no longer take hearing for granted after a week of hearing totally different pitches coming into both ears! It scared me straight and I was so relieved it wasn’t my cochlea or something when it went back to normal. I couldn’t hear any bass below 100hz either. I’m scared a doctor will have to cut through my ear drum to fix it 🙁

  3. Very interesting! I’m wondering though: when someone is suffering from auditory hallucinations — is that happening inside the brain, or could it be the “ion conduits” between the hair cells firing inappropriately? The reason I’m asking is because the more we study mental illness, drugs, etc. — a lot of it seems related to signalling problems within body parts, and not just within the brain itself.

  4. Me: Wait a second! So this is all the result of “random mutations and natural selection” …???
    Very smart educated person: No, you forgot the magical phrase: ” millions and millions of years”

  5. Why do I have a tickling sensation in my ear canal? Started when I began taking the antidepressant Celexa. Left ear only.

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