Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear

No matter what you do, your ears are always working. They are constantly detecting,
deciphering and analysing sounds and communicating them to the brain. In a
comparatively tiny area of our body the ear is performing many highly technical and
intricate functions. Consider just a few of them:

(1) The human ear can cope with an incredible range of sound. Your ear can, in fact,
cope with a 10,000,000,000,000 fold difference in loudness. That’s a range of 130
decibels.

(2) The ear can pick out and focus in on a particular sound or conversation in a roomful
of noise.

(3) The human ear can detect a difference of just two degrees in the direction of a
sound source.

(4) The ear is able to recognise at least 400,000 different sounds, matching them up
against those stored in the memory banks.

What we see of the ear is just the outer part of a very complex structure. There are
three distinct portions to the ear: the outer ear containing the fleshy skin and the canal
that leads to the inner ear, the middle ear containing the three smallest bones in the
human body – the malleus, incus and stapes (commonly called the hammer, anvil and
stirrup) and the inner ear, made up of a cluster of three semi circular canals and the
snail shaped cochlea. Let's take a look at them one at a time . . .

The Outer Ear

The outer ear collects sound waves in the air and channels them to the inner parts of
the ear. The outer ear along with it’s canal has been shown to enhance sounds within a
certain frequency range. That range just happens to be the same range that most of the
characteristics of human speech sounds fall into. This allows the sounds to be boosted
to twice their original intensity.
The Middle Ear

The middle ear transforms the acoustical vibration of the sound wave into mechanical
vibration and passes it onto the inner ear. The three tiny bones of the middle ear act as
a lever to bridge the eardrum with the oval window. Incoming forces are magnified by
about 30 %. This increased force allows the fluid in the cochlea of the inner ear to be
activated.

The Inner Ear

The semi-circular canals in the inner ear allow us to maintain balance and coordination.
The cochlea, which is a bundle of three fluid filled canals coiled up in a spiral, is set in
motion by the stirrup in the middle ear. Moving in and out it sets up hydraulic pressure in
the fluid. As these waves travel to and from the apex of the spirals, they cause the walls
separating the canals to undulate. Along one of these walls is a sensitive organ called
the Corti. It is made up of many thousands of sensory hair cells. From here thousands
of nerve fibers carry information about the frequency, intensity and timbre of all these
sounds to the brain, where the sensation of hearing occurs.

Scientists cannot fully explain just how the signals are transmitted to the brain. They do
know that the signals sent by all the hair cells are about the same in duration and
strength. This has led them to believe that it is not the content of the signals but rather
the signals themselves that convey some sort of message to the brain.

Our ears, so often taken for granted, thus are a marvel of intricacy and design that
leaves anything that man can produce in the shade as a cheap imitation. Your hearing
can never be replaced. Don’t take it for granted.

The ear is the organ of hearing. The parts of the ear include:

 external or outer ear, consisting of:

o pinna or auricle - the outside part of the ear.

o external auditory canal or tube - the tube that connects the outer ear to
the inside or middle ear.

 tympanic membrane - also called the eardrum. The tympanic membrane

divides the external ear from the middle ear.

 middle ear (tympanic cavity), consisting of:

o ossicles - three small bones that are connected and transmit the sound
waves to the inner ear. The bones are called:

 malleus
 incus
 stapes

o eustachian tube - a canal that links the middle ear with the throat area.
The eustachian tube helps to equalize the pressure between the outer ear
and the middle ear. Having the same pressure allows for the proper
transfer of sound waves. The eustachian tube is lined with mucous, just
like the inside of the nose and throat.

 inner ear, consisting of:

o cochlea (contains the nerves for hearing)
o vestibule (contains receptors for balance)
o semicircular canals (contain receptors for balance)