The Ears : Common question
I know that the ears are divided into outer, middle and inner sections, but I'm not sure how these parts work together. Can you tell me?
Hearing is made possible by the operation of a delicate, finely coordinated system that involves all three sections of the ear. The outer ear ( the part that is easily seen ) captures vibration, or sound waves, and channels them down a short canal to the eardrum, the membrane that separates the outer from the middle ear.
As the eardrum is struck by sound waves, it vibrates. On the other side of the eardrum, three tiny bones, named ( after the objects they resemble ) the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup, pick up the vibrations, amplify them and pass them on to the fluid in the cochlea. This bony, snail-shaped structure, about the size of a lima bean, is located in the inner ear.
The cochlea contains receptor cells crowned with microscopic 'hairs' that transform the vibration into electrical impulses. These impulses are transmitted by the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are translated into the sounds of the world around you.
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