How does sound get to the eardrum?
Sound vibrations from the outside are collected by the portion of your ear that protrudes from each side of your head, called the auricle. The vibrations travel to the eardrum through the external auditory canal, which is the passageway where earwax (cerumen) is secreted. The eardrum (tympanic membrane) is a vibratory membrane tissue that separates the outer ear canal from the middle ear cavity. Once the eardrum receives the vibrations, they are conducted through the tiny bones of the middle ear to the inner ear to be converted to nervous energy. Sound vibrations originating within the body are conducted to the middle ear, where tiny bones conduct the vibrations to the inner ear to be converted to nervous energy.
