Human hearing’s 120-dB dynamic range exceeds man-made device capabilities

Evidence

An illustration of Wegel’s representation is shown in Figure 1–5, which plots both auditory threshold (minimum audibility) and the threshold of feeling (maximum audibility), measured in more than 40 people. Wegel defined the range between the minimum audibility and maximum audibility curves as the sensation area. Wegel’s sensation area had an elliptical shape because both the minimum and maximum audibility curves were frequency dependent. Today, we would call the sensation area the dynamic range of hearing. From Wegel’s data, we see that the dynamic range of hearing was frequency dependent and was the largest in the mid-frequency range (e.g., about 500–6000 Hz). — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 94 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Human hearing detects pressure changes of a few parts per billion; Hearing spans a pressure range greater than a million to one — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 886; The dynamic range of hearing is largest between 500 and 6000 Hz — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 94 (+3 more)

Related

• The dynamic range of hearing is largest between 500 and 6000 Hz (similarity 0.90)
• The auditory system’s ~120 dB dynamic range exceeds any single nerve fiber’s coding capacity (similarity 0.85)
• Hearing spans a pressure range greater than a million to one (similarity 0.85)
• Human hearing detects pressure changes of a few parts per billion (similarity 0.84)
• Reduced dynamic range forces nonlinear amplification to avoid over-amplifying loud sounds (similarity 0.84)
• Reduced dynamic range makes linear hearing aid amplification unsafe (similarity 0.84)
• No single auditory nerve fiber spans the full dynamic range of human hearing. (similarity 0.82)
• Individual auditory nerve fibers cannot code the full hearing dynamic range (similarity 0.82)
• Human hearing spans 150 dB and three decades of frequency (similarity 0.82)
• The ear’s 120-dB and 20 Hz-20 kHz working range exceeds man-made devices (similarity 0.81)
• The ear’s full dynamic range exists only near 4 kHz (similarity 0.81)
• Hearing aid compression maps a wide input range into a narrower output range (similarity 0.81)
• Hearing loss squeezes the full loudness range into a much smaller dynamic range (similarity 0.81)
• The cochlea cannot track dynamic intensity changes above roughly 1 kHz (similarity 0.81)
• Elevated hearing thresholds and lower LDLs compress loudness category spacing horizontally. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Dynamic range compression trades vitality for noisy-environment audibility #qualifies (0.78)
• The dynamic range of hearing is largest between 500 and 6000 Hz #expands (0.75) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 94
• Reduced dynamic range forces nonlinear amplification to avoid over-amplifying loud sounds #qualifies (0.75)
• Wide dynamic range compression typifies all nonlinear hearing aid amplification #qualifies (0.72)