Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A sound reaches the nearer ear a fraction of a millisecond before the far one. The figure is taken from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a human body fact?

Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

The brain locates sounds by microsecond timing differences

A sound reaches the nearer ear a fraction of a millisecond before the far one For a source to the side, the two ears receive the sound at slightly different times, with a maximum gap of about 0.7 milliseconds. Brainstem circuits in the superior olive compare arrival times and loudness to compute direction. This works poorly for low frequencies from directly in front, where timing cues fade. It sits in Mondo's human body collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Science trivia

More facts like this

The smallest bone in the human body is inside the earMeasuring just three millimetres long the stapes bone helps transmit sound vibrations The stapedius is the smallest muscle in the human bodyMeasuring barely over one millimetre this tiny muscle protects inner ear hearing Earwax cleans lubricates and protects the auditory canalCerumen traps dust bacteria and dead skin to preserve ear canal health Cochlear hair cells convert mechanical sound waves to nerve signalsMicroscopic sensory cilia vibrate to transduce acoustic frequencies Perfect pitch is rare in adultsRoughly one in ten thousand people can name a note without a reference Humans hear roughly 20 hertz to 20 kilohertzThe top end declines with age, and children hear higher than adults

Tags: hearing, sound, brainstem

The brain locates sounds by microsecond timing differences: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A sound reaches the nearer ear a fraction of a millisecond before the far one. The figure is taken from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a human body fact?: Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.