FREQUENCY RESPONCE OF EAR

Name UID Roll. N0

James Vincent 212646 244
Ben Joe Kuriakose 212617 279

Name of the course : SYPHY04PR

Month and year of submission : February 2023
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Index

Sl. No Contents Page No.

1 INTRODUCTION 2
2 AIM 3
3 APPARATUS 3
4 THEORY 3
5 PROCEDURE 4
6 OBSERVATION 5
7 CALCULATIONS 6
8 GRAPH 7
9 APPLICATIONS 10
10 CONCLUSION 11
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INTRODUCTION
The human ear is an incredible transducer that can detect sounds in a
frequency range from about 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It converts sound energy
to mechanical energy, which is then transformed into a nerve impulse
that is sent to the brain for interpretation. The ear's ability to do this
allows us to perceive the pitch, loudness, and timbre of sounds.

The ear is made up of three parts - the outer ear, the middle ear, and the
inner ear - each of which has a specific function in detecting and
interpreting sound. The outer ear collects and directs sound to the
middle ear, which converts sound energy into internal vibrations of the
middle ear bones and then into a compressional wave in the inner ear.
The inner ear transforms this energy into nerve impulses that can be
transmitted to the brain.

The length of the ear canal allows for amplification of sounds with
frequencies of around 3000 Hz. The range of audible frequencies, or the
range of sound frequencies that humans and other animals can hear, is
from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. This means that sounds with frequencies within
this range can be heard by a normal human ear
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AIM

To study the frequency response of ears to varying frequency for varying

age group

APPARATUS
Computer,winamp, audacity,mobile phone, frequency tone, varying age
group listeners

THEORY

The perceived response of {average} human hearing to constant

loudness levels (aka sound intensity levels) SIL = LI is not independent
of frequency. The response of the human ear for very low (< 20 Hz) and
very high frequencies (> 20 KHz) is increasingly poor. Note that the
open-closed ¼- resonances associated with the ear canal affect our
loudness level response. Because human hearing is not flat with
frequency, the perceived, or apparent loudness of a sound depends on
frequency, and also on the actual intensity I (in Watts/m2), or
equivalently, the actual loudness LI (in dB) {or sound pressure level LP =
SPL (in dB) of the sound. In 1933, Fletcher and Munson obtained
average values of the apparent loudness of sounds for human hearing
as a function of these variables. The unit of apparent loudness Lapp is
the Phon, defined as the value of the SPL that has constant apparent
loudness for (average) human hearing. The figure below shows the
Fletcher-Munson curves – contours of constant apparent loudness Lapp(
f ) vs. frequency, f.
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Note that at f = 1000 Hz, Lapp (Phons) SPL (dB). At other frequencies,
the graph clearly shows that Lapp (Phons) SPL (dB) …
Sound pressure level (SPL) meters have 3 types of sound weighting
networks:
A weighting : the 40 Phon curve of above figure. Units : dB-A SPL
B weighting : the 70 Phon curve of above figure. Units : dB-B SPL
C weighting : flat, independent of frequency. Units : dB-C SPL

PROCEDURE

1. Create tracks of different frequencies on ‘Audacity’.

2. Ask the participants to hear a frequency at a time using wired
earphones and adjust the ‘dB gain’ on the Audacity app at a level
where they are barely able to hear the particular tone by keeping
the ‘application volume’ and ‘master volume’ fixed.
3. Record the data for different age groups and plot graphs.
4. conclude the findings
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OBSERVATION

Participants responses (in dB)

Sl. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No

Age 20 20 19 19 18 55 54 47 48 50

f 1 2

20 -2 -1 -0. 6 -1 -2 0 NA 0 0 0

200 -20 -22 -11 -23 -15 -13 -21 -15 -20 -20

300 -26 -24 -11. 5 -26 -19 -16 -25 -17 -24 -22

400 -27 -27 -13 -28 -20 -19 -25 -20 -22 -24

500 -31 -30 -15 -29 -21 -20 -29 -22 -26 -26

1000 -32 -32 -28 -30 -25 -25 -31 -28 -30 -30

2000 -21 -30 -30 -34 -21 -30 -29 -24 -26 -28

4000 -44 -44 -44 -36 -31 -40 -42 -36 -41 -36

5000 -38 -36 -42 -40 -44 -44 -38 -41 -38 -40
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10000 -27 -29 -40 -36 -26 -35 -26 -27 -26 -34

16000 -20 -20 -10 -12 -8 0 -11 0 -12 -9

𝑓 is in Hz
Age in years

CALCULATIONS
Average readings of different age groups

Frequency (Hz) Group 1 (dB) Group 2 (dB)

20 -1. 32 0
200 -18. 2 -17. 8
300 -21. 3 -20. 8
400 -23 -22
500 -25.2 -24. 6
1000 -29.4 -28. 8
2000 -27. 2 -27. 4
4000 -39. 8 -39
5000 -40 -40.2
10000 -31. 6 -29. 6
16000 -14 -6. 4
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GRAPH
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APPLICATIONS
1. Audio engineering: Understanding the frequency response of the
ear is crucial in designing and building audio systems. Audio
engineers need to consider how the ear perceives different
frequencies when designing speakers, headphones, and other
audio equipment.

2. Acoustics: Acoustic engineers use the frequency response of the

ear to design concert halls, auditoriums, and other public spaces
where sound quality is essential. They must ensure that the sound
in these spaces is balanced across all frequencies.

3. Audiology: Audiologists use the frequency response of the ear to

diagnose and treat hearing problems. They can use the frequency
response of the ear to determine if someone has hearing loss in a
particular frequency range.

4. Music production: Understanding the frequency response of the

ear is essential in music production. Producers and engineers
must consider how different instruments and voices will sound to
the listener and adjust the mix accordingly. They can use
equalization (EQ) to boost or cut specific frequencies to achieve
the desired balance.

5. Speech recognition: Speech recognition technology uses the

frequency response of the ear to understand human speech. By
analyzing the frequencies in speech, computers can identify words
and phrases accurately.
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CONCLUSION
The frequency response of the ear varies with age due to changes in the
anatomy and physiology of the ear. In general, as people age, their
hearing ability decreases, especially in the higher frequency range. This
is known as presbycusis, and it is a natural part of the aging process

Normally a healthy human ear can hear between the range of 20Hz to
20kHz this is mainly accurate for the younger generations.the sensitivity
is found to be maximum between 3000-5000 Hz.As people age their
ability to detect the wide range of frequency spectrum decreases.