Trivia Quiz: Hearing and Sound

Have you ever wondered what the loudest animal is, or where the quietest place on Earth is located? Take this quiz to find those answers along with other hearing and sound facts!

1. What are the loudest animals in the world? 

A.) Elephants
B.) Grizzly Bears 
C.) Whales

2. A study of over 3,000 adults were asked to name their most and least favorite sounds. Which of the following were they?

A.) A Cat purring and nails scratching a chalkboard.
B.) Crackling sound of a fire and a cell phone ringing.
C.) Wine pouring into a glass and children yelling.

3. Where is the quietest place on Earth?

A.) Microsoft’s anechoic chamber, known as Building 87, in Redmond, WA.
B.) Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, MN. 
C.) Atlantic Ocean Road (or “Atlanterhavsveien”) in Norway.

4. If you get goosebumps while listening to a song, your body may be reacting because it thinks you are:

A.) Cold
B.) Scared
C.) Happy
        
5. Which of the following animals has the most sensitive hearing?

A.) Bats
B.) Moths
C.) Dogs
           
6. How do your ears help you stay balanced?

A.) They know how your head moves.
B.) They feature a hormone that balances you.
C.) They have an equal amount of fluid in each ear.

7. To prevent your ears from getting plugged while you fly on a plane, DO NOT engage in this during the landing:

A.) Eat
B.) Sleep
C.) Yawn

8. A couple drops of _______ can assist in softening and clearing out earwax:

A.) Baby oil
B.) Mineral oil
C.) Both

Let’s see how you did!

1. The correct answer is C. Whales are the loudest animals in the world. Specifically, the loudest ones are the sperm whales. The clicking noises that they make can go up to 230 decibels. The blue whales make noises that reach 188 decibels. The water boatman is a crustacean that can snap its claws and send shock waves of 200 decibels. To put those in perspective, the average hearing threshold that a human can handle is 85 decibels. Any sounds louder than that can cause permanent damage. Because water is much denser, the sounds that these animals make are muffled and affect how loud the human ear hears it.   
2. The correct answer is C. Wine pouring into a glass and children yelling.    
3. The correct answer is A. Microsoft’s anechoic chamber, known as Building 87, in Redmond, WA grabbed the title of “The Quietest Place on Earth” by the Guiness Book of World Records in 2015. The title was previously held by Orefield Laboratories in Minneapolis, MN. 
4. The correct answer is B. Scared. Opera singers have been trained to reach the same frequency and pitch of a human scream. You may not be afraid, but your body might think you should be scared. These chills, known as frisson, can be induced when you are on a roller coaster, sit in a hot bath, or if you hear fingernails on a chalkboard. 
5. The correct answer is B. Moths can hear up to 300 kilohertz - this is approximately 100 more than some bats can hear. Dogs lag even further behind at 60 kilohertz, while humans can only hear up to 20 kilohertz. 
6. The correct answer is A. Your ears know how that your head is moving. The canals and organs located in your inner ear have sensors that sends signals to your brain whether you are remaining still, moving from side to side, or going up or down. 
7. The correct answer is B. When the air pressure on both sides of your eardrum are not equal, your ears feel obstructed. Swallowing and yawning are great ways to even out the pressure. 
8. The correct answer is C. Both. A drop of glycerin and hydrogen peroxide are other remedies that can also be used to soften and clear out earwax. ​

If you, or a loved one, are experiencing any difficulties with hearing, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation. We offer a wide variety of hearing aid options for you individual needs.

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