How Does the Ear Work?
The ear is made up of three main sections: The outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The Outer Ear Sounds are received by our outer ear, which includes the pinna (auricle or outer ear) and the ear canal (external acoustic meatus). The pinna captures sounds in the environment and increases the loudness of those pitches that make it easier to understand speech. The ear canal tunnels the sound to the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and helps to protect the structures of the middle ear. The Middle Ear The sound waves hit the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and cause it to vibrate. These eardrum vibrations then cause movements of the three tiny bones in the middle ear called the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). Movement of these three tiny bones helps to deliver the sound vibrations to the inner ear. Delivering the sound from a relatively large eardrum to a smaller oval window (entrance way to the inner ear) also results in an amplification of the sound. The Inner Ear Th
In very basic terms, the ear is made up of the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The part we can see is the outer ear which also includes the ear canal. It functions to capture sound energy and funnel it to the middle ear. The middle ear’s job is to mechanically transform sound waves and send the signals on to the inner ear (cochlea) where auditory sensory cells are located. From the cochlea, sound information is transmitted to the auditory nerve and on up to the brain. Here is how the ear works normally: : • The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate which sets the three tiny bones in the middle ear into motion. • The motion of these bones causes the fluid in the inner ear or cochlea to vibrate. • The vibration of the inner ear fluid causes the hair cells in the cochlea to move. The hair cells change this movement into electrical impulses. • These electrical impulses are transmitted by the hearing (auditory) nerve to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. Damage o
The structure of the ear can be divided into three main parts: the outer ear or pinna, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer structure of the ear is responsible, in part, for helping us to place the original location of a sound, be it ahead or behind, above or below us. It also helps to funnel and focus sound waves on their way to the middle ear and auditory canal. The middle ear contains the auditory canal, which terminates in the eardrum, or tympanic membrane. Attached to the other side of the eardrum, in a small space of air, are three tiny bones or ossicles, the malleus, incus and stapes (or hammer, anvil and stirrup) which then attach to a fluid-filled structure called the cochlea of the inner ear at a point called the oval window. It is in the cochlea that the vibrations transmitted from the eardrum through the tiny bones are converted into electrical impulses sent along the auditory nerve to the brain. The inner ear, which is surrounded by bone, also contains semicircular
The ear is made up of three main sections: • The Outer Ear • The Middle Ear • The Inner Ear Sounds from the outside world are picked up by the outer ear, which is made up of the pinna and the ear canal. As the sound waves enter the ear, the ear canal (1) serves to increase the loudness of those pitches that make it easier to understand speech. At the same time the ear canal protects another important part of the ear: the eardrum (2) – a flexible, circular membrane which vibrates when touched by sound waves. The sound vibrations continue their journey into the middle ear, which contains three tiny bones called the ossicles(3-5), which are also known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup. These bones form the bridge from the eardrum into the inner ear. They increase and amplify the sound vibrations even more, before safely transmitting them on to the inner ear via the oval window. The Inner Ear, or cochlea (8), resembles the circular shell of a snail, and houses a system of tubes which are fi
Anatomically, an ear is a vertebrate organ of hearing responsible for sensing and collecting sounds as well as maintaining equilibrium. The ear is divided into three components, the outer ear (pinna), the middle ear, and the inner ear. Each component of the ear has its unique functions. The outer or external ear The external ear consist of two portions, the first being the pinna, the skin covered flabby cartilage of the ear visible on both sides of the head. The basic function of the outer ear or pinna is to protect the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The outer ear also functions to collect sound waves to the eardrum through the ear canal. The second component of the external ear is the auditory ear canal or meatus. There are modified sweat glands that secrete ear wax in the ear canal. If ear wax is excessive, the ear drum can be damaged or lead to blockage of the transmission of sound. Unlike those of animals, human ears are usually of same size. They only grow from infancy up until yout
