Hearing (or audition; adjectival form: “auditory” or “aural”) is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses. The inability to hear is called deafness.

In humans and other vertebrates, hearing is performed primarily by the auditory system: vibrations are detected by the ear and transduced into nerve impulses that are perceived by the brain (primarily in the temporal lobe). Like touch, audition requires sensitivity to the movement of molecules in the world outside the organism. Both hearing and touch are types of mechanosensation.