Doug wrote:

"TonyP" wrote in message . au...

most people have a misguided trust in their ears, as if they were some
accurately calibrated acoustical standard. Nothing could be further from the
truth.

Ears are NOT power meters, nor do they hear like a power meter,
pressure meter, loudness meter, db meter or any other meter meters.
They are non-linear, poorly understood mechanisms.

I think we understand the basics of the ear just fine.

The more refined stuff (ability to hear despite damage, ability to resolve very fine detail amidst background noise, etc.) is more murky, being in effect consciousness & perception research.