ONLINE ASSIGNMENT ON

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
RELATED TO EAR.

Submitted by : Sreya k
Natural science

INTRODUCTION
The vertebrate ear is the sensory organ responsible for hearing and balancing.
There fore, it is referred to as statoacoustic organ. It is composed of three parts-the
external ear, middle ear and the inner ear. Human ear is sensitive to sound vibration
in the range of 20 to 20000 HZ with maximum sensitivity at about 2000HZ. The
ear is a paired sensory organ, which is involved in both hearing and balance. For
this reason, the ear is known as the vestibulocochlear organ. Foreign bodies can
become lodged in the external auditory meatus, but glands are present that produce
wax which can trap these.

The Physiology of Hearing

The physiology of our hearing mechanism can conveniently be divided into three
topics:
1The outer ear (auricle or pinna) and ear canal
2 The middle ear
3 The inner ear
The Auricle and Ear Canal.
Each hole in the side of the skull leads into an ear canal. The ear canal is an
irregular cylinder with an average diameter of less than 0.8 mm and about 2.5 cm
long.
The ear canal (figure 1) is open at the outer end which is surrounded by the pinna
(or auricle). The pinna plays an important spacial focusing role in hearing. The
canal then narrows slightly and widens towards its inner end, which is sealed off
by the eardrum.
Thus the canal is a shaped tube enclosing a resonating column of air - with the
combination of open and closed ends. This makes it rather like an organ pipe.

THE EAR CANAL

The ear canal supports (resonates or enhances) sound vibrations best at the
frequencies which the human ears hear most sharply. This resonance amplifies the
variations of air pressure that make up sound waves, placing a peak pressure
directly at the eardrum.
For frequencies between approximately 2 KHz and 5.5 KHz, the sound pressure
level at the eardrum is approximately 10 times the pressure of the sound at the
auricle.
The Eardrum - interface between outer and middle ear.
Airborne sound waves reach only as far as the eardrum. Here they are converted
into mechanical vibrations in the solid materials of the middle ear.
Sounds (air pressure waves) first set up sympathetic vibrations in the taunt
membrane of the eardrum, just as they do in the diaphragm of some types of
microphone. The eardrum passes these vibrations on to the middle ear structure.

Middle Ear

The middle ear consists of the tympanic cavity, the auditory ossicles and the
eustachian tube.
The boundary between the middle and inner ear is the oval window.

The auditory ossicles are attached to the wall of the tympanic cavity by
many ligaments and mucosal folds.

The tympanic cavity is located within the petrous temporal bone, and can be
divided into dorsal, middle and ventral parts:

- Dorsal: or epitympanum,
the malleus and incus

conatining

of

the

auditory

ossicles

- Middle: or mesotympanum bounded by the tympanic membrane laterally and

containing the third auditory ossicle, stapes, attached to the oval window. It opens
rostrally into the nasopharynx via the eustachian tube
- Ventral: or hypotympanum, or fundic cavity, which is the largest compartment.
It is housed by the tympanic bulla which is a thin-walled, bulbous expansion of the
temporal bone.

Inner Ear

The inner ear is located within the petrous temporal bone.

The inner ear contains the membranous labyrinth, which is surrounded by
the bony labyrinth.

 The membranous labyrinth is an interconnected group of fluid-filled

membranous sacs. The fluid is endolymph.
It is the movement of the endolymph that stimulates the sensory cells within
the membranous wall.

Function - Hearing
The main function of the ear is to receive auditory and vestibular input. It locates
the directional source of sound, collects sound waves and conducts them to the
special organ of sense in the inner ear, where sound is converted to electrical
impulses and transmitted to the brain.
The external ear receives sounds, which cause vibrations of the tympanic
membrane. These vibrations move along the ossicles of the middle ear, to be
transmitted to the inner ear. The stapes is connected to the oval window, so when
the stapes transmits vibrations, this causes movement of perilymph that is in the
inner ear. The movement of the perilymph is transmitted via the scala vestibuli and
the scala tympani, to the round window, where it induces movement of the
secondary tympanic membrane. This results in the movement of the endolymph of
the cochlear duct, causing pressure on the tectorial membrane, which then induces
pressure on the sensory hairs, stimulating the receptor cells within the cochlear
duct to send impulses to the spiral ganglion. The axons of the spiral ganglion form
part of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
tympanic membrane ossicles middle ear wall middle ear cavity oval
window

Function - Balance
The vestibular sense is rather more unconscious than that of hearing.
The vestibular labyrinth, that is contained within the bony labyrinth of the inner
ear is the part of the ear that is involved with the vestibular sense - balance.

 The vestibular labyrinth contains the saccule, the utricle and the semicircular
ducts - the semicircular ducts being housed within the semicircular canals.
There are sensory hair cells within the vestibular labyrinth, similar to those in
the other regions of the inner ear, which detect movement.
However, these sensory hair cells are lodged in the ampullary cupulae or in
otoliths (minute calcareous particles), rather than in the tectorial membrane as
in the rest of the ear.
The ampulla is a swelling at the base of the semicircular ducts. The sensory hair
cells project upwards from the ampulla into the cupula, which is a gelatinous
mass. The ampullary cupulae detect flow around the semicircular canals, which
are filled with endolymph, and there is an inertia of fluid for detection of
angular acceleration. Angular acceleration is the detection of motion of the head
in any direction.
Otoliths are denser than endolymph - they are calcareous and crystalline. They
are contained within the maculae, and detect gravity and linear acceleration.
Linear acceleration is the detection of motion along a line, for example when
you lean to one side.
Movement of the sensory hair cells triggers impulses, which are carried by the
vestibular portion of the vesibulocochlear nerve).

EAR DISEASES

Ear disease, any of the diseases or disorders that affect the human ear
and hearing.

Impaired hearing is, with rare exception, the result of disease or abnormality of the
outer, middle, or inner ear. Serious impairment of hearing at birth almost always
results from a dysfunction of the auditory nerve and cannot be improved
by medical or surgical treatment. In early and late childhood the most frequent
cause for impaired hearing is poor functioning of the eustachian tubes with the
accumulation of a clear, pale yellowish fluid in the middle-ear cavity, a disorder
called serous, or secretory, otitis media
Outer ear
Diseases of the outer ear are those that afflict skin, cartilage, and the glands and
hair follicles in the outer-ear canal. The sound-transmitting function of the outer
ear is impaired when the ear canal becomes filled with tumour, infected material,
or earwax so that sound cannot reach the tympanic membrane, or eardrum. The
most common diseases of the outer ear are briefly described in the following
paragraphs.
Infections and injuries
FROSTBITE
The exposed position of the outer ear makes it the part of the body most frequently
affected by freezing, or frostbite. Humidity, duration of exposure, and, most of all,
wind, in addition to degrees of temperature below freezing, predispose to the
occurrence of frostbite. The frozen area begins along the upper and outer edge of
the ear, which becomes yellow-white and waxy in appearance, cold and hard to the
touch, and numb with loss of skin sensation.
In treatment of frostbite the victim is placed as soon as possible in a warm room,
but the frozen ear is kept cool by applying ice wrapped in a towel until the
returning blood circulation gradually thaws the frozen part from within. Massage
of the frozen ear is avoided, for it is likely to injure the skin. Heat applied to the
frozen area before circulation is established can result in clotting of the blood in
the blood vessels. This in turn can result in death of that part of the ear, which turns
black and eventually falls off, a process called dry gangrene.

HEMATOMA
Injury to the outer ear can cause bleeding between the cartilage and the skin,
producing a smooth, rounded, nontender purplish swelling called hematoma. The
accumulation of clotted blood is removed by surgeon because, if it is left, it will
become transformed into scar tissue and cause a permanent, irregular thickening of
the outer ear commonly called cauliflower ear and seen in boxers and wrestlers
whose ears receive much abuse.
PERICHONDRITIS
Infection of the cartilage of the outer ear, called perichondritis, is unusual but may
occur from injury or from swimming in polluted water. It is due to a particular
microorganism, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is a greenish or brownish, musty
or foul-smelling discharge from the outer-ear canal, while the affected outer ear
becomes tender, dusky red, and two to three times its normal thickness. Prompt
antibiotic treatment is necessary to prevent permanent deformity of the outer ear.
EXTERNAL OTITIS
Infection of the outer-ear canal by molds or various microorganisms warm, humid
climates and among swimmers. The ear canal itches and becomes tender; a small
amount of thin, often foul-smelling material drains from it. If the canal becomes
clogged by the swelling and drainage, hearing will be impaired. Careful and
thorough cleaning of the outer-ear canal by a physician, application of antiseptic or
antibiotic eardrops, and avoidance of swimming are indicated to clear up
the infection.
Middle ear
Acute middle-ear infection
Fortunately, acute middle-ear infections, called acute otitis media, are nearly
always due to microorganisms that respond quickly to antibiotics. As a result, acute
infection of the mastoid air cells resulting in a dangerous mastoid abscess with the
possibility of meningitis, brain abscess, septicemia, infection of the labyrinth, or

facial nerve paralysis, complicating an acute infection of the middle-ear cavity, has
become rare. Abscess of the mastoid and the other complications of acute middleear infection are seen chiefly in remote regions and countries where the population
lacks proper nutrition and adequate medical care.
While serious and life-threatening acute infections of the middle ear and mastoid
air cells have become rare, chronic infections, mentioned below, continue to occur,
and another type of middle-ear disease, secretory otitis media, is frequent.
SECRETORY OTITIS MEDIA
In secretory otitis media the middle-ear cavity becomes filled with a clear, pale
yellowish, noninfected fluid. The disorder is the result of inadequate ventilation of
the middle ear through the eustachian tube. The air in the middle ear, when it is no
longer replenished through this tube, is gradually absorbed by the mucous
membrane, and fluid takes its place. Eventually, the middle-ear cavity is
completely filled with fluid instead of air. The fluid impedes the vibratory
movements of the tympanic membrane and the ossicular chain, causing a painless
impairment of hearing.
The usual causes for secretory otitis media are an acute head cold with swelling of
the membranes of the eustachian tube, an allergic reaction of the membranes in the
eustachian tube, and an enlarged adenoid (nodule of lymphoid tissue) blocking the
entrance to the eustachian tube. The condition is cured by finding and removing the
cause and then removing the fluid from the middle-ear cavity, if it does not
disappear by itself within a week or two. Removal of the fluid requires puncturing
the tympanic membrane and forcing air through the eustachian tube to blow out the
fluid. In the absence of fever and infection of the middle ear, antibiotics, which
may impede the normal immune protection of the middle ear, are not necessary. In
cases in which an allergic reaction is not the underlying cause of the condition, it
may be necessary to insert a tiny plastic tube through the membrane to aid in
reestablishing normal ventilation of the middle-ear cavity. After a time, when the
middle ear and hearing have returned to normal, this plastic tube is removed. The
small hole left in the tympanic membrane quickly heals.

AERO-OTITIS MEDIA
Aero-otitis media is a painful type of hearing loss that can result from an inability
to equalize the air pressure in the middle-ear cavity when a sudden change in
altitude occurs, as may happen in a rapid descent in a poorly pressurized aircraft.
Allergies or a preexisting head cold may inhibit an individuals ability to equalize,
which is accomplished by yawning or swallowing to open the eustachian tube. The
tympanic membrane becomes sharply retracted when the air pressure becomes less
within than without, while the opening of the tube into the upper part of the throat
becomes pressed tightly together by the increased air pressure in the throat, so that
the tube cannot be opened by swallowing. A severe sense of pressure in the ear is
accompanied by pain and a decrease in hearing. Sometimes the tympanic
membrane ruptures because of the difference in pressure on its two sides. More
often, the pain continues until the middle ear fills with fluid or the membrane is
surgically punctured. Usually aero-otitis media produced during a flight is of a
temporary nature and disappears of its own accord.

CONCLUSION

Our ear has three main parts: outer, middle and inner.we use all of them in hearing.
Sound waves come in through your outer ear. They reach your middle ear, where
they make your eardrum vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny
bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear. The vibrations travel to your inner ear, a
snail-shaped organ. The inner ear makes the nerve impulses that are sent to the
brain. Your brain recognizes them as sounds. The inner ear also controls balance.

REFERENCE

1. K. Vijayakumaran nair and P.I Paul, 2009; Animal physiology and

biotechnology, Academia publications.
2. K.K.Bhaskaran; Animal Physiology and Endocrinology, Manjusha
publication.
3. www.wikepedia.com.