Hearing Loss And How Your Ear Works

Hearing Loss And How Your Ear Works

Considering Its puny size, your ear Is an extraordinary Instrument. A sugar cube sized piece of equipment, you are able to distinguish all speech sounds along with another nearly half a million sounds.

Your ears main function Is to collect, process, and send sound to your brain. But that Is not all, those two small Intricate mechanisms that you have on the sides of your head are also responsible for keeping your balance.

To easily understand how your ear works, you should get to know Its three main sections and the functions of these areas. The ear Is basically divided Into three sections: outer, middle, and Inner ear. These three parts are all connected to each other In order for you to process sounds In your brain.

Outer Ear: Acoustic Catcher

The outer ear has two parts, first Is the auricle or the pinna, which Is the visible external part of the ear, then the ear canal, which may also be called external auditory canal, or external auditory meatus.

The main function of your outer ear Is to collect sounds, In the form of acoustic waves. If ever you lose your pinna from some accident, there’s no need to fret. Although having a pinna has high aesthetic value, It actually has little effect on hearing.

The more Important part of your outer ear however Is your ear canal, which Is the tube that conveys sound waves Into your eardrum. The ear canal Is also where earwax Is produced. The canal Is lined with small hair that filters dust and protects the whole tube.

In the end of the canal you would find the tympanic membrane or the eardrum, which separates the outer ear from the middle ear. Your eardrum Is a thin membrane that Is very sensitive to vibrations. When sound waves reach your eardrum, vibrations occur In the membrane.

Middle Ear: Going Mechanical

Your middle ear Is an air filled cavity located after the tympanic membrane. In this cavity you will find the smallest bones In your body known as the ossicles. The ossicles or ossicular chain Is a chain of three small bones that play an Important role In hearing.

The three bones namely: malleus (hammer), Incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup), respectively. These three bones are named as such, since their shapes somewhat resemble their names. The eardrum Is connected to the malleus, which Is connected to the Incus, which Is then connected to the stapes.

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posted by srikanth....july17