George von Békésy

George von Békésy was a Hungarian-American scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1961 for his pioneering work on how our inner ear detects sound. He discovered that in the cochlea, a spiral-shaped part of the ear, tiny hair cells move in response to sound waves. These movements translate signals into nerve impulses sent to the brain, enabling us to hear. His research helped us understand the complex mechanisms of hearing and balance, significantly advancing sensory science and paving the way for treatments of hearing impairments.