Final answer:
The head-related transfer function describes the role of the ear in changing sound intensity from different spatial locations. The pinna, interacting with sound waves, provides vital cues for sound localization. Sound is transduced from the outer ear through the middle ear to the inner ear.
Step-by-step explanation:
The head-related transfer function (HRTF) is a function that describes how the pinna, ear canal, head, and torso change the intensity of sounds with different frequencies that arrive at each ear from different locations in space.
Each pinna interacts with incoming sound waves differently, depending on the sound's source relative to our bodies. This interaction modifies the sound waves in a way that provides important monaural cues for the localization of the sound. Since sound waves received by the two ears from certain directions will be identical, these monaural cues play a crucial role in determining the location of a sound above, below, in front of, or behind us.
The human ear can be divided into three main sections: the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The outer ear, consisting of the pinna and ear canal, focuses sound waves onto the eardrum. The middle ear, with its ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes), amplifies the sounds before they reach the inner ear, where they are transduced into neural signals.