High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The absolute threshold of hearing (ATH) is the minimum sound level of a pure tone that an average ear with normal hearing can hear with no other sound present. The absolute threshold relates to the sound that can just be heard by the organism. The absolute threshold is not a discrete point, and is therefore classed as the point at which a response is elicited a specified percentage of the time. This is also known as the auditory threshold.