_Everyday Hearing
We have to do many things with our hearing from moment to moment in the real world. It is important for us to be able to detect sounds, identify sounds, and choose whether to respond to those sounds.
In order to do this, our auditory system has to activate auditory perceptions. Perceptions are formed through repeated pairings of stimulation and sensation, and this is true of auditory perception as well. An infant with normal auditory function forms auditory perceptions through millions of repetitions. For instance, children with good language function are exposed to abut 44 million words by about the age of 4 years.
All of these activities are important, but the most complex thing we do with our hearing is to use it to supply our receptive communication function with sufficient information to allow us to understand what other people are saying in a wide variety of different listening conditions. Our auditory system has the task of producing accurate perceptions, even when the stimulation is not ideal.
What this means is that although a person may be able to detect many environmental sounds, including the sound of someone else speaking, they may not be able to easily and accurately understand what that other person is saying.
Because this latter process is very complex, it is also the most vulnerable of all aspects of hearing to failure, and this difficulty is the most common problem people have when they talk about hearing difficulties.
In order to do this, our auditory system has to activate auditory perceptions. Perceptions are formed through repeated pairings of stimulation and sensation, and this is true of auditory perception as well. An infant with normal auditory function forms auditory perceptions through millions of repetitions. For instance, children with good language function are exposed to abut 44 million words by about the age of 4 years.
All of these activities are important, but the most complex thing we do with our hearing is to use it to supply our receptive communication function with sufficient information to allow us to understand what other people are saying in a wide variety of different listening conditions. Our auditory system has the task of producing accurate perceptions, even when the stimulation is not ideal.
What this means is that although a person may be able to detect many environmental sounds, including the sound of someone else speaking, they may not be able to easily and accurately understand what that other person is saying.
Because this latter process is very complex, it is also the most vulnerable of all aspects of hearing to failure, and this difficulty is the most common problem people have when they talk about hearing difficulties.
