Ideas worth spreading

The beautiful, mysterious science of how you hear

461,195 views | Jim Hudspeth • TED@NAS

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.

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.

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with The Kavli Foundation, the Simons Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.

About the speaker

Biophysicist, neuroscientist

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A. James "Jim" Hudspeth conducts research on hair cells, the sensory receptors of the inner ear.

World Science Festival, 2019 | Watch

"Can We "Cure" Deafness and Blindness? Should We?"

This webcast portrays both scientific progress toward an understanding of hearing and the Deaf community's ambivalence toward an unwanted — and unnecessary — "cure" for deafness.

A. J. Hudspeth | Dædalus, 2015 | Article

"The Energetic Ear"

This article endeavors to provide a non-specialist description of the ear's performance and the operation of its active process.

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About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with The Kavli Foundation, the Simons Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.