Question

The passive vibrating of the basilar membrane would not be an effective way to “capture” the sound signal. Explain why this is the case, and what mechanism the ear uses to overcome this problem.

Answer 1

The basilar membrane is a structural element within the cochlea of the inner ear. In a normal ear, the sound is received by the eardrum then it goes to the middle ear and finally excites the winners ear fluid through the vibration which in turn results in vibration of the basilar membrane. Vibrations are of two types: active and passive

Active vibrations are reduced and precise vibrations. As all vibrations are not useful for the ear. So, active vibrations are the one which focuses as to how to resist the unwanted vibrations so that only wanted vibrations can be heard and the unwanted vibrations should be neglected.

On the other side, passive vibrations are no that precise, they consist the unwanted vibrations as well which can affect the hearing of an individual.
the things that a person can use to avoid the problems are:

1. Avoid prolonged exposure to loud noise

2. Less the exposure of sound with hearing protections

3. Get your hearing checked