听觉(hearing)，亦作audition或sound reception。

感受声音的生理作用。听觉必须将声音的振动转换成神经脉冲，送往脑部并解读为声音。有两个动物门的成员可以接收声音，节肢动物与脊椎动物。听觉让动物察觉危险、找到食物、寻找伴侣，更复杂的生物还用来沟通（参阅animal communication）。所有的脊椎动物都有双耳，通常在里面的腔有听觉毛细胞（乳突），外面的鼓膜接收并传递声音振动。声音的定位是取决於声音在两只耳朵到达时间与强度的细微差异分辨。哺乳动物的声音接收通常发展极佳、高度特化，例如蝙蝠和海豚利用回音定位，鲸与象可以听见数十甚至数百公里之外的求偶呼唤。犬科动物同样能够听见远方的声音。人耳可以听见的频率介於20至2万赫兹；最敏感的频率是介於1000与3000赫兹之间。脉冲沿着中枢听觉通路前进，从耳蜗神经由延髓到大脑皮质。听觉可能因为疾病、受伤或年老而受损；有些听觉障碍如耳聋，可能是天生的。亦请参阅hearing aid。

English version：

hearing

orsound receptionPhysiological process of perceiving sound. Hearing entails the transformation of sound vibrations into nerve impulses, which travel to the brain and are interpreted as sounds. Members of two animal groups, arthropods and vertebrates, are capable of sound reception. Hearing enables an animal to sense danger, locate food, find mates, and, in more complex creatures, engage in communication (see animal communication). All vertebrates have two ears, often with an inner chamber housing auditory hair cells (papillae) and an outer eardrum that receives and transmits sound vibrations. Localization of sound depends on the recognition of minute differences in intensity and in the time of arrival of the sound at the two ears. Sound reception in mammals is generally well developed and often highly specialized, as in bats and dolphins, which use echolocation, and whales and elephants, which can hear mating calls from tens or even hundreds of miles away. Dogs and other canines can similarly detect faraway sounds. The human ear can detect frequencies of 20-20,000 hertz (Hz); it is most sensitive to those between 1,000 and 3,000 Hz. Impulses travel along the central auditory pathway from the cochlear nerve to the medulla to the cerebral cortex. Hearing may be impaired by disease, injury, or old age; some disorders, including deafness, may be congenital. See also hearing aid.

参考文章

• 婴儿(宝宝)听觉语言发育有什么规律?孕儿育儿
• 怎样锻炼宝宝的听觉能力？孕儿育儿
• 宝宝听觉的训练方法有哪些？孕儿育儿
• 如何从听觉平衡功能检查鉴别贝尔氏麻痹和Hunt氏综合征神经与精神科
• 多动症与听觉障碍呈现的多动如何区别?儿科
• 什么是音乐听觉美术与音乐