The beautiful, mysterious science of how you hear | Jim Hudspeth

Have you ever wondered how your ears work? In this delightful and fascinating talk, biophysicist Jim Hudspeth demonstrates the wonderfully simple yet astonishingly powerful mechanics of hair cells, the microscopic powerhouses that make hearing possible -- and explains how, when it's really quiet, your ears will begin to beam out a spectrum of sounds unique to you.

[vikkris]

One of the best talks I have heard from TED...It's so nice to see him explaining complex topic in a simple & clear way...

[ivanliu]

Nothing more needs to be said other than, a marvellous presentation.

[icyfyer]

The explanation of this fascinating process was perfect. Your word selection and cadence were all spot on. Thank you so much for this presentation.

[evolutionofelliot]

I wanted to watch this video as someone who is moderately to severely deaf in both ears! This was so informative and our ears are amazing things!!!

[vipinmahajan]

well it also makes me reminds how thankful we should be to able to HEAR

[thegemstonegallerytgg]

Great Video once again by Ted...love your videos sooo much.

[dinoflame]

Very interesting! I'm wondering though: when someone is suffering from auditory hallucinations -- is that happening inside the brain, or could it be the "ion conduits" between the hair cells firing inappropriately? The reason I'm asking is because the more we study mental illness, drugs, etc. -- a lot of it seems related to signalling problems within body parts, and not just within the brain itself.

[amisfitpuivk]

This was really great! I only wish we got to see the entire process of hearing and how a soundwave hits the ear drum then somehow gets translated through the stirrup etc. and all this other stuff into what we hear. I have a vested interest and that's why I want to learn. Sometimes I think I get swollen (I think it's the protective muscle for loud noise) in the middle ear and hear distorted sound and off-key music for a week on one side; seems to be triggered by crunchy food. Let me tell you, you no longer take hearing for granted after a week of hearing totally different pitches coming into both ears! It scared me straight and I was so relieved it wasn't my cochlea or something when it went back to normal. I couldn't hear any bass below 100hz either. I'm scared a doctor will have to cut through my ear drum to fix it :(

[ProjectPhysX]

A true miracle of evolution, yet mechanically so simple, a door opening and closing. Very, very fascinating. Thank you for the talk!

[DagianDeMortu]

Thank you for your work. Referencing 15:20, I have moderate to severe tinnitus. It is usually moderate, which is somewhat tolerable, but at severe I wonder how much longer I can tolerate it. I can only fantasize about living a day when a ghost is not standing beside me blowing a whistle in my ear.

[followthelaw]

Outstanding lecture and content. I just never knew that we had this knowledge. I'm so excited when I learn new things.

[happycoco]

TED, please try to have the instructor back for another presentation. I'll look forward to hear him lecture about any topic he finds interesting or valuable. Some TED talks are shallow and lack any real substance and usually come down to "X is amazing, it's as fast as and there are millions and millions of it" which only contributes to viewer interest but doesn't teach anything substancial beyond that.
This presentation, however, was very valuable and in-depth (considering this isn't a bilogy/medical class) where the instructor wasn't afraid of losing his audience because of complicated information or "boring" topics.

[MH]

Thank you for this beautiful presentation. It allowed me to appreciate the Power of Almighty God, the One.

[EdElectra]

I definitely listened up and had my ears listen to this information being passed on to me

[wagdymosa]

“Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul, ”

[raymondjones]

Very interesting!!.. sounds promising!...thank you very much Ted! 😊😊😊❤

[doctorpope_]

They should’ve got this guy for the PS5 presentation.

[punia_]

Actually quite interesting.. Thanks and love from India

[ASLUHLUHC]

It has just occurred to me that humans like music
For hours we sit in chairs, lie down, stand around, or shake violently


While a device nearby vibrates



wtf....

[jiblazed]

Jim makes hearing interesting AF. thanks Jim!