Mechanism of Hearing

Physiological Anatomy

Physiology of external ear

The external ear includes the pinna, the external auditory meatus, and the auditory canal. The auditory canal contains glands that secrete cerumen, a waxy substance.

The pinna may help to direct sounds into the auditory canal, mostly in animals. The auditory canal transmits sound waves to the tympanic membrane. In humans the auditory canal has a resonant frequency of about 3500 Hz and it limits the frequencies that reach the tympanic membrane. cerumen, a waxy substance has protective and cleaning function.

Structure and function of the middle ear

The middle ear-air-filled cavity in the temporal bone that opens via the auditory (eustachian) tube into the nasopharynx The tube is usually closed, but during swallowing, chewing, and yawning it opens, keeping the air pressure on the two sides of the eardrum equalized. The three auditory ossicles, the malleus, incus, and stapes, are located in the middle ear. The malleus - attached to the tympanic membrane & incus. Incus articulates with the head of the stapes. The foot plate of the stapes - attached by an annular ligament to the walls of the oval window.

Physiology of middle ear

The foot plate of the stapes- pushes oval window pushes cochlear fluid forward
Impedance matching: Impedance matching between the sound waves in air and the sound vibrations in the fluid of the cochlea. Because fluid has far greater inertia than air. Thus increased amounts of force are needed to cause vibration in the fluid
The amplitude of movement of the stapes footplate with each sound vibration is only the amplitude of the handle of the malleus-but increases the force of movement about 1.3 times. the surface area of the tympanic membrane = about 55 square mm & surface area of the stapes averages 3.2 square mm (55/3.2) = about 17-fold difference In total=1.3X17 = about 22 times as much total force to be exerted on the fluid of the cochlea as is exerted by the sound waves against the tympanic membrane. the impedance matching is about 50 to 75 per cent of perfect for sound frequencies between 300 and 3000 cycles per second, which allows utilization of most of the energy in the incoming sound waves.

Physiology of middle ear

Attenuation of Sound by Contraction of the Tensor Tympani and Stapedius Muscles. When loud sounds are transmitted through the ossicular system all the way into the central nervous system- after about 40 to 80 ms reflex contraction of the stapedius muscle and, to a lesser extent, the tensor tympani muscle occur. The tensor tympani muscle pulls the handle of the malleus inward while the stapedius muscle pulls the stapes outward -greatly reduce the ossicular conduction of low frequency sound, mainly frequencies below 1000 Hz- by 30 to 40 dB. 1. To protect the cochlea from damaging vibrations caused by excessively loud sound.
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Structure and function of inner ear

The inner ear (labyrinth) is made up of two parts, one within the other. The bony labyrinth is a series of channels in the petrous portion of the temporal bone. Inside these channels, surrounded by a fluid called perilymph, is the membranous labyrinth. This membranous structure more or less duplicates the shape of the bony channels.
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Structure and function of Cochlea

The cochlea is a system of coiled tubes. It consists of three tubes coiled side by side: 1. the sala vestibuli- Perilymph 2. the scala media- endolymph 3. the scala tympani- perilymph
The scala vestibuli and scala media are separated from each other by Reissners membrane (also called the vestibular membrane), the scala tympani and scala media are separated from each other by the basilar membrane. On the surface of the basilar membrane lies the organ of Corti, which contains a series of electro-mechanically sensitive cells, the hair cells.

Organ of Corti
organ of Corti- on basilar membrane -contains the hair cells, The hair cells are arranged in four rows: three rows of outer hair cells, and one row of inner hair cells- 20,000 outer hair cells and 3500 inner hair cells. The processes of the hair cells pierce the reticular lamina that is supported by the pillar cells or rods of Corti. Covering the rows of hair cells is a thin, viscous, but elastic tectorial membrane in which the tips of the hairs of the outer but not the inner hair cells are embedded.

90- 95% of sensory neurons innervate the inner hair cells; only 510% innervate the outer hair cells-most of the efferent fibers in the auditory nerve terminate on the outer.
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Physiology of inner ear

Movement of fluid in the cochlea after forward thrust of the stapes.

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Physiology of inner ear

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Excitation of the Hair Cells

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