hearing

—hearingless, adj.

/hear"ing/, n.

1. the faculty or sense by which sound is perceived.

2. the act of perceiving sound.

3. opportunity to be heard: to grant a hearing.

4. an instance or a session in which testimony and arguments are presented, esp. before an official, as a judge in a lawsuit.

5. a preliminary examination of the basic evidence and charges by a magistrate to determine whether criminal procedures, a trial, etc., are justified.

6. earshot: Their conversation was beyond my hearing.

[1175-1225; ME; see HEAR, -ING¹]

Syn. 4. audience, conference, consultation.

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I

In law, a trial, or more specifically the formal examination of a cause before a judge according to the laws of the land.

In popular usage the term often refers to a formal proceeding before a magistrate prior to the inception of a case, and in particular to a preliminary hearing, where a magistrate or judge determines whether the evidence justifies proceeding with the case.

II

or audition or sound reception

Physiological process of perceiving sound.

Hearing entails the transformation of sound vibrations into nerve impulses, which travel to the brain and are interpreted as sounds. Members of two animal groups, arthropods and vertebrates, are capable of sound reception. Hearing enables an animal to sense danger, locate food, find mates, and, in more complex creatures, engage in communication (see animal communication). All vertebrates have two ears, often with an inner chamber housing auditory hair cells (papillae) and an outer eardrum that receives and transmits sound vibrations. Localization of sound depends on the recognition of minute differences in intensity and in the time of arrival of the sound at the two ears. Sound reception in mammals is generally well developed and often highly specialized, as in bats and dolphins, which use echolocation, and whales and elephants, which can hear mating calls from tens or even hundreds of miles away. Dogs and other canines can similarly detect faraway sounds. The human ear can detect frequencies of 20–20,000 hertz (Hz); it is most sensitive to those between 1,000 and 3,000 Hz. Impulses travel along the central auditory pathway from the cochlear nerve to the medulla to the cerebral cortex. Hearing may be impaired by disease, injury, or old age; some disorders, including deafness, may be congenital. See also hearing aid.

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      in biology, physiological process of perceiving sound. See ear (ear, human); mechanoreception; perception; sound reception.

▪ law

      in law, a trial. More specifically, a hearing is the formal examination of a cause, civil or criminal, before a judge according to the laws of a particular jurisdiction. In common usage a hearing also refers to any formal proceeding before a court. In reference to criminal procedure a hearing refers to a proceeding before a magistrate subsequent to the inception of the case and without a jury—especially a preliminary hearing, in which a magistrate or judge, in the presence of the accused, determines whether there is sufficient evidence to justify proceeding with the case.

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