How we hear whispers

MIT researchers have shed more light on the current understanding of the inner ear function, by discovering a small mechanism inside the organ that helps us hear whispers.
The tectorial membrane, a gelatinous structure inside the cochlea of the ear, is much more important to hearing than previously thought.
The cochlea, is a part of the inner ear where physical sound is translated into electrical signals for the brain.Inside this coiled tube, sound waves glide along a thin membrane, known as the basilar membrane, causing hair-like fibers on the membrane to vibrate at different frequencies. Once stimulated, the fibers emit electrical pulses that the brain uses to determine the pitch of the sound.Hovering right above all of this is the tectorial membrane, along which a different kind of sound wave travels.This wave, which bounces from side to side, can stimulate the hair cells and also enhance their sensitivity, which Ghaffari said might help elucidate how we can pick up on sounds that are as quiet as a whisper.