As a sound engineer monitors audio levels at a rock concert, which mechanism explains why prolonged exposure to high-decibel noise damages cochlear hair cells, primarily affecting high-frequency hearing?

💡 Explanation

Prolonged high-intensity sound exposure causes mechanical fatigue of the stereocilia in hair cells, particularly those responding to high frequencies. This is because the constant vibration leads to structural damage and eventual cell death, therefore permanent threshold shift occurs rather than immediate recovery like with temporary threshold shift.

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