Humans can perceive a range of sound frequencies, commonly referred to as the audible frequency range, which is approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. While sounds with very high frequencies might not be as common in nature, our ability to hear them is not limited to the frequencies we commonly encounter.
The reason we can hear sounds with high frequencies, even if they are not prevalent in nature, lies in the structure and functioning of our auditory system. The human ear consists of several components, including the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, and auditory nerve, all of which work together to process sound.
The outer ear collects sound waves and directs them into the ear canal. The sound waves then reach the middle ear, where they cause vibrations in the eardrum and three tiny bones called the ossicles. These vibrations are transmitted to the inner ear, specifically the cochlea.
The cochlea is a spiral-shaped structure lined with thousands of tiny hair cells that are responsible for detecting sound vibrations. Different hair cells are sensitive to different frequencies. When high-frequency sound waves enter the cochlea, they stimulate the hair cells that are specifically tuned to those frequencies. This stimulation is converted into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve.
In essence, our ability to hear sounds with high frequencies is due to the presence of specialized hair cells in the cochlea that can detect and transmit these frequencies to our brain for interpretation. While high-frequency sounds may not be as common in everyday life, our auditory system is capable of perceiving a wide range of frequencies beyond what we commonly encounter.