Hearing range usually describes the range of frequencies that can be heard by an animal or human, though it can also refer to the range of levels. In humans the audible range of frequencies is usually said to be 20 Hz (cycles per second) to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz), although there is considerable variation between individuals, especially at the high frequency end, where a gradual decline with age is considered normal. Sensitivity also varies a lot with frequency, as shown by equal-loudness contours, which are normally only measured for research purposes, or detailed investigation. Routine investigation for hearing loss usually involves an audiogram which shows threshold levels relative to a standardised norm.
Read more about Hearing Range: Determination of Hearing Thresholds, Land Mammals, Marine Mammals
Famous quotes containing the words hearing and/or range:
“I used to be angry all the time and I’d sit there weaving my anger. Now I’m not angry. I sit there hearing the sounds outside, the sounds in the room, the sounds of the treadles and heddles—a music of my own making.”
—Bhakti Ziek (b. c. 1946)
“Culture is the suggestion, from certain best thoughts, that a man has a range of affinities through which he can modulate the violence of any master-tones that have a droning preponderance in his scale, and succor him against himself. Culture redresses this imbalance, puts him among equals and superiors, revives the delicious sense of sympathy, and warns him of the dangers of solitude and repulsion.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)