How Do We Hear?

Written by Lisa M. Catanoso The ear is a part of that body that goes vastly unnoticed. Not only does it allow us to hear it allows us to balance. With the introduction of i!ods and ear buds ears have been abused by the younger generation. Music blasting at uncontrolled volu"es fro" these products fractures the way the ear wor#s and can lead to tinnitus which is ringing in the ears or even deafness. Learning how the ear wor#s can help us "a#e better decisions regarding our hearing health. The ear is bro#en into three "ain co"ponents$ the outer ear the "iddle ear and the inner ear. %ll three of these areas are involved in the hearing process.

The &uter 'ar The outer ear is co"prised of cartilage and flesh which allows the ear to be fle(ible. The se"i)circular for"ation that e(tends outside the head is called the pinna. The pinna allows sound waves to be collected and enter into the ear. &nce collected the sound waves travel through the ear canal. The ear canal in covered in a tan stic#y substance called ceru"en or ear wa(. The ceru"en coats protects the ear canal fro" any outside particles such as dirt dust and water. The sound waves continue to travel through the ear canal until they reach the ty"panic "e"brane also #nown as the ear dru".

The Middle 'ar

The ear dru" is the starting point of the "iddle ear. The vibrations fro" the sound waves travel fro" the ear dru" through the ossicles. The ossicles are the three s"allest bones in the hu"an body. They are #nown as the incas "alleus and stapes. These s"all bones are *ointed together and connect to the inner ear through the oval window on the vestibule of the inner ear. The ossicles are very i"portant in the hearing process because create a coded vibrated "essage that the inner ear later decodes and and allows us to ear. The 'ustachian tube is also present in the "iddle ear. The 'ustachian tube is responsible for draining li+uid and e+uali,ing pressure within the ear. When the 'ustachian tube is not functioning properly or if there is too "uch li+uid for it to drain ear infections will occur. 'ar infections often occur in s"all children because the tubes are too s"all to drain the a"ount of li+uid they produce. The 'ustachian tube-s presence can be felt when traveling high altitudes. .or e(a"ple when a person is riding an air plane and they can feel their ears /pop0 it is si"ply the 'ustachian tube e+uali,ing pressure in the ear fro" one altitude to another. The 1nner 'ar The inner ear is different fro" the outer and "iddle ear due to the fact that it is co"pletely filled with fluid. This fluid is very i"portant because it controls our balance. .luid fills the vestibule and surrounding structures of the inner ear #nown as se"i)circular canals. These canals can detect rotational tilting and side to side "ove"ent of the head. &nce "ove"ent is detected a nerve pulse is sent to the brain allowing us to #now where we are in space. The inner ear ta#es the coded vibrated "essage fro" the ossicles and decodes it. The inner ear is co"prised of a a tubular shaped vestibule that develops into the cochlea. The vestibule has a s"all oval window to which the ossicles fro" the "iddle ear connects allowing the sound waves to travel. The sound waves then send signals through the fluid of the vestibule that travel all the way to the cochlea. The cochlea is a a spiral shaped organ that is covered with cilia. The signals then vibrates the cilia which turns the signal into nerve i"pulses. These nerve i"pulses travel through the auditory nerve to the brain where the i"pulses are processed into what we identify as sound. The cochlea is i"portant because it is the final step of the hearing process. When the cilia on the cochlea die deafness occurs and it is irreversible. However a person can opt to receive a cochlear i"plant. This i"plant surgically places electrodes into the cochlea which then electrically sti"ulates the auditory nerve causing the brain to identify sound.

!rotection 'arly onset of beco"ing a typical diagnosis in by doing the following. tinnitus and deafness is younger generations. These ail"ents can be prevented

)When at large events such as a concert or a sports "atch wear ear plugs. The loudness of such events can da"age cilia over ti"e and also produce ringing in the ears indefinitely. )2et i!od to 345 loudness and loc# it. This is a safe range to listen to "usic that will not da"age ears. )1f you are sitting ne(t to a friend and you can hear the "usic fro" their ear phones their "usic is too loud. )Never use 6)Tips to clean your ears. They can rupture the ear dru" and clot ceru"en in the ear canal. 7se a li+uid ear cleaning solution instead. Ceru"en production is the ears- natural way of the cleaning itself so re"oving this substance can lead to infection.

.urther 8eading .or furthering reading on this of the ear visit topic and access to other functions

http$99www.who.int9occupational:health9publications9noise;.pdf provided by the World Health &rgani,ation. .or an ani"ated visual for how we hear please visit https$99www.youtube.co"9watch?v<sti!MLt*=%w .or further infor"ation on cochlear i"plants visit$ www.cochlear.co"