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The ear is a complex organ made of three parts:
1) the outer ear
2) the middle ear
3) the inner ear
- includes the auricle (or pinna), the ear canal, and the eardrum.
- channels sound from the surrounding environment into the hearing system.
- the auricle helps to gather the sound waves and direct them to the eardrum.
- the eardrum vibrates as the sound hits it.
- is an air filled cavity which contains the smallest bones in the human body - the malleus, the incus, and the stapes.
- These bones are connected to the eardrum on one end and to a thin membrane covered opening on the wall of the inner ear at the other end.
- is also connected to the back of the throat via the Eustachian Tube.
- The Eustachian Tube keeps the air pressure in the middle ear equal to that of the surrounding environment.
- Is a fluid filled compartment in the temporal skull bone that contains two sections
- the cochlea which processing auditory information for hearing, and the semicircular canals which process information affecting balance.
- Along the entire length of the cochlea, there are tiny microscopic hair cells.
- When the fluid in the inner ear is moved by the sound waves passed on through the action of the middle ear bones, the hair cells bend.
- This triggers a chemical response, which activates the corresponding nerve endings.
- The nerves transmit the message to the area of the brain in charge of processing and interpreting auditory input.
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