The human ear has the ability to hear different ranges of sound.
Most people can hear between 20 hertz and 20,000 hertz.
The ears play a role to help us to hear.
Outer Ear
The outer ear is the visible portion of the ear that people can see.
It collects sound waves just at the entrance with something called the concha.
Earwax plays an essential part in the outer ear canal.
It collects dirt most of the time made up of tiny dead skin particles. Earwax is produced by special glands that produce the earwax. It helps fight infections and keep dirt from entering the ear.
Middle Ear
The middle ear transforms sound waves into vibrations and sends them to the inner ear.
The middle ear is divided from the outer ear by the eardrum. When sound waves enter the eardrum, it starts to vibrate.
This movement causes tiny bones in the middle ear known as the ossicles to vibrate and move the sound into the inner ear.
Inner Ear
The inner ear is located inside the temporal bone. Sound enters the inner ear as a vibration.
The inner ear contains a spiral-shaped hearing organ called the cochlea, which is a small tube filled with liquid.
The vibrations cause the liquid in the cochlea to move. The cochlea is lined with tiny hairs which change the vibrations into nerve signals.
These singles pass along the auditory nerve to the brain.
Parts of the Ear
The human ear is made up of different parts such as the pinna, outer ear canal, eardrum, hammer, anvil, stirrup, cochlea, semicircular canals, eustachian tubes, and nerves.
| Helix |
| Tubercle |
| Scapha |
| Antihelix |
| Concha |
| Antitragus |
| Lobe |
| Triangular Fossa |
| Legs of Antihelix |
| Leg of Helix |
| Anterior Notch |
| Position of Auditiry Meatus |
| Intertragical Notch |
Pinna and Outer Ear Canal
The pinna, sometimes called the auricle, is the part of the outer ear that we can see.
The pinna is useful in hearing because it helps to collect the sound and then directs the sound to the outer ear canal.
The outer ear canal is a tube that sound, as it enters in the pinna, travels and goes to the eardrum.
Hammer, Anvil, and Stirrup
The hammer also called the malleus, is a super small bone that helps to take vibrations and transport them to the anvil.
The anvil, also known as the incus, is a super small bone that takes the sound from the hammer and transports it to the stirrup.
The stirrup, also called the stapes, is the smallest bone in the human body, smaller than all other bones.
This is sometimes called a “U” shape because it looks like a letter U.
The stirrup transmits the sounds from the hammer and the anvil and sends them to the cochlea.
Cochlea
The cochlea is a structure that is found in the inner ear and it is a spiral-shaped structure.
Inside of the cochlea are super small hairs that are called cilia and these hairs move when vibrations occur.
When the vibration hits the cilia, the moving cilia makes a nerve impulse.
Semicircular Canals
There are three different canals located in the ear that are semicircular. These are tubes that are filled with fluid and they loop around the ear.
These tubes are attached to the cochlea, inside of the inner ear, and these canals help to make sure that we have balance.
Eustachian Tube
The Eustachian tube connects the back of the nose to the middle ear. This tube helps to make sure that the pressure of the middle ear and the air on the outside are equalized so that you hear good and that you do not lose balance.
When a person goes up a mountain and feels like their ear “pops” or when someone swallows and their ear “pops” this is the Eustachian tube that is equalizing the pressure in the middle ear.
Nerves
Signals from the inner ear are carried to the brain by nerves.
These nerves send signals to the brain to help the brain interpret what the sound is.
Ear Diseases
There are a few common ear diseases, but the most common are vertigo and deafness.
Vertigo is when a person has improper balance because of pressure that is inside the ear. This disease can cause you to be dizzy or to feel unbalanced.
Deafness can occur due to carelessness or from birth defects.
It is important not to listen to music too loud and to wear earplugs or other protective gear when you will be around loud sounds.
Ear Facts for Kids:
- Ears never stop working.
- The earlobe is always growing.
- Somebody with very good hearing can hear sounds down to -15 dB.
- Ear wax generally leaves the ear naturally
- The middle part of the ear amplifies the sound pressure
- Ears clean themselves by making wax that collects the oil and other substances from getting down inside of the ear.
- The cilia help to hear. If you lose your hair out of your ears, you lose your hearing.
What Did You Learn?
- What is interesting about the bones in the ear? The interesting thing about bones in the ear is that the ear has the smallest bone in the body.
- How does sound travel through the ear? Vibrations travel from the hammer to the anvil and then to the stirrup to other parts of the ear, eventually leading to the brain.
- What role does the brain play in hearing? Vibrations travel and create sounds that cause nerves to travel to the brain. The brain can then interpret the sound.
- What part of the ear never stops growing? The earlobe never stops growing.
- What is Vertigo? Vertigo is an ear disease that causes people to be dizzy or off balance.
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