Auditory Neuroscience: How is Sound Processed by the Brain?

When you hear music, a telephone call, a pin drop, your auditory system...

converts sound into vibrations of the three middle ear bones
the last middle ear bone is attached to the cochlea, which transforms vibration to electric potentials inside the sensory hair cells
which creates action potentials in auditory-nerve fibers (axons)
which are processed by the auditory pathway located in your brain.

For more detail, see