system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Do our ears adjust when listening to very quiet sounds?

More specifically, is there a change that happens to our ears akin to pupils dilating in low light in order for quieter sounds (or sounds of different frequencies) to be picked up?
gpt
Yes. The series of small bones and muscle situated behind your ear drum protect your audition by tensing up when exposed to loud sounds, and relax when they are not. Furthermore, the way sound is perceived happens mostly in the brain, which has a very complex way of handling sound that is dependent on a lot of factors (psychoacoustics) so yes your perception changes a lot if you're concentrated, rested, in a quiet environment, what kind of sound... There are different well known effects such as frequency masking (loud low frequency sound "muddle up" your perception of higher frequency content) and plenty others. It's quite complex.