Study Finds Inner Ear Senses Infrasound Below 12 Hz Through Electrical Potentials
Updated
Updated · Tech Explorist · Jul 9
Study Finds Inner Ear Senses Infrasound Below 12 Hz Through Electrical Potentials
2 articles · Updated · Tech Explorist · Jul 9
Summary
Scientific Reports published findings from Carlos Jurado and Torsten Marquardt showing humans can perceive infrasound when levels are high enough, even below the usual hearing limit of about 16 Hz.
Below roughly 12 Hz, the inner ear appears to register individual sound cycles through intracochlear electrical potentials rather than the standard hair-cell pathway that supports normal tonal hearing above about 20 Hz.
That alternate mechanism helps explain why infrasound is felt more as vibration or pressure than as a steady tone, and why small increases in sound pressure can make it seem much louder.
The researchers said differences in this pathway could also explain why sensitivity to low-frequency noise varies sharply between people, with some barely noticing sounds others find intrusive.