Age- and noise-related hearing loss are common and can affect quality of life. But many treatments are available. Hearing, in biology, physiological process of perceiving sound. See ear; mechanoreception; perception; sound Learn about hearing health, causes and symptoms of hearing loss and tinnitus, risk factors, evaluation, prevention, and safe supplement context—based on current evidence. HEARING definition: 1. an official meeting that is held to collect the facts about an event or problem: 2. an occasion…. Learn more. There are three main components of the human auditory system: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear includes the pinna, the visible part of the ear, as well as the ear canal, which terminates at the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane. The pinna serves to focus sound waves through the ear canal toward the eardrum. Better hearing affects more of your life than you might expect. Decades of research shows that hearing health is closely connected to your overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Hearing occurs when your ear and nervous system work together to transform sound waves into information you can understand. Hearing range describes the frequency range that can be heard by humans or other animals, though it can also refer to the range of levels. The meaning of HEARING is the process, function, or power of perceiving sound; specifically : the special sense by which noises and tones are received as stimuli. Hearing is the sense that allows you to distinguish sounds with your ears. Dogs have a particularly acute sense of hearing, and they can hear sounds pitched too high for humans to hear. You use your hearing when you attend a concert, listen to an audio book, or talk to a friend on the phone.