Hearing

By Mykah, Hope and Maricella

 Structure

The Ear is divided into three main regions:

The External , Middle and Internal ear

The External (Outer) ear
● Collects sound waves and channels them inward
○ The auricle- the part of the ear that you can see
■ Is the flappy part of the ear and it collects sound
waves and directs them to the external auditory
canal, which directs sound waves to the eardrum
○ Cerumen glands - secrete cerumen (ear wax) that
prevent foreign objects from entering the ear
○ Eardrum - conducts sound waves
Middle Ear
● Small, air filled cavity between the eardrum and inner
ear
● Links to the auditory tube(eustachian tube) - connects
the middle ear to the throat
● When auditory tube is open, air pressure can equalize
on both sides of the eardrum
● Auditory Ossicles: Tiny bones that fit into a small
opening in a thin portion of the body called the oval
window - where inner ear begins
■ Malleus
■ Stapes
○ Equally tiny bones help to control the movement
of these to prevent from hearing damage
 Internal (Inner) Ear
● The inner ear is divided into two labyrinths
○ The outer bony labyrinth
○ The membranous labyrinth
● Cochlea - transforms the vibrations into a neural signals
● The Cochlea is divided into three channels:
○ Cochlear duct - houses the organs of the Corti
○ Scala Vestibuli - above the cochlear, ends at oval
window
○ Scala Tympani - below cochlear duct, ends at the
round window
● Between the cochlear duct and the scala vestibuli is the
basilar membrane and on top of the basilar membrane is
the spiral organ which is the organ of hearing.
Process
Stimulus: Sound travels as pressure/air waves go Sensory Receptors: The cochlea
down our ear canal contains the primary receptors
(basilar membrane) and they
vibrate hair cells

Nerve Impulse: Hairs create

electrical pulses which stimulate
the neighboring nerve cells (all of
the auditory nerve)
Process
Region of Brain: The impulse traveling
through the auditory nerve goes all the way to
the auditory cortex