You will feel like having superpowers after reading this!
Think just for 2 min.. Life being a deaf!! It’s difficult to imagine no? Yes it is! Now you must be realizing ‘How important ears are!’
One of the most vital & active organ of human body is Ear! They not only help in hearing but also in maintaining body balance.
Sound waves which are collected by ear create vibrations in ear drum. It is passed through different structure in ear & transferred to brain & hence we can hear. Now what these structures are? Don’t worry; just stick to the article. I am going to tell you here only. J
Before learning about how ear works, we should learn about structure of an ear.
Ear consists of 3 parts: Outer, middle & inner part.
Outer Ear – It includes ear canal & consists of hair & wax secreting glands as well. This part provides path to the sound waves. Most outer part of ear is known as Pinna which collects the sound waves.
Middle Ear – 3 very small bones are present here viz. malleus, incus & stapes. These bones transmit the sound waves from inner ear to the ear drum. A number of air spaces are present inside & that’s why middle ear is most important.  Eustachian tube is present over here & it matches the air pressure between inner & outer surface of eardrum. Middle layer is a route for infection.
Inner Ear (Labyrinth) – Main hearing organ is present here. It also controls body’s balance. It is a complex system of membranous cells. Mainly two parts are present here viz. bony & membranous labyrinth.
Main hearing organ (cochlea) is present in the middle ear (Fig B). Cochlea is a snail like fluid filled chamber with three partitions. Its central channel is known as cochlear duct. Organ of corti (hearing organ) consists of sound detecting hair cells. It helps in transmission of information.
Transmission of sound waves occur from outer ear to middle ear & then to the inner ear. Mesh of cells, nerves, bones & canals help in transmission.
Isn’t it a beautiful thing to hear a number of sounds? You might love some of them & vice versa. How do we actually hear sounds? Let me tell you this now.
How do we hear?
When air vibrates, sound waves are created. All information is converted into electrical signals for interpretation by brain. Very external part of brain (Pinna) collects & passes the sound waves to ear canal. Vibrations are created after sound waves strikes the ear canal. It further causes vibration of tiny bones in ear canal. Very last bone (Stapes) (Fig C) ultimately conducts the information to cochlea via another membrane.
After cochlea collects the signal, fluid inside it shows the movement. Fluid movement causes the conversion of these signals to electrical form. These electrical signals are directed to the brain. Specific regions of brain reads the signal language & act accordingly.
What we hear is Sound! J
Our ears can hear sounds of different frequencies. Either its low pitched sound or high pitched sound. Movement of eardrum is different with different kind of sound range. It help is distinguishing various sounds.
Now all you have to do is just respect & feel the superpower of hearing. J
Well guys don’t forget to learn this topic as you can have certain question from it in your next level of NEET. And if you want to get more of information over ear, jump in here.
And Yes if you remember me! I am Anjali Ahuja J Your biology educator. Just to put you a reminder regarding study material! It is all ready to help you to crack entrance examination.
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