Structure of the Ear (How we translate sounds) To understand how deafness occurs, we first need to understand how people regularly hear. The ear can be split into three divisions: the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The external ear collects sound waves and sends the waves down to the ear canal which then vibrate the eardrum. The middle ear carries sound waves to the inner ear and also contains the smallest bones in the body. The middle ear also contains the Eustachian tube which connects the middle ear to the middle throat. The inner ear converts these intercepted sound waves into neural signals and also contains the cochlea. There are other things in the ear besides these three divisions such as the organ of corti which contains the cells responsible for the hearing hair cells. There are two types of these hair cells in the ear: inner and outer hair cells. Both of these cells work within the cochlea and have a stereocilia, an organelle of hair cells, but the outer hair cells function specifically in the cochlea. The outer hair cells contain the stereocilia at the top of the cell and the nucleus at the bottom. When the stereocilia bends, an electromotive response occurs which changes the cell length with every sound wave. Also in the ear is the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve has fibers that rest below the hair cells and pass the sound wave signals to the brain. The hair cells also have sensory cells which sit on top of the basilar membrane. At the tip
When a person with normal hearing hears the sound travels along the ear then bounces against the ear drum. The eardrum, the bones inside, and the cochlea vibrate and move thousands of tiny hairs inside the ear. When these hairs move an electrical response occurs. This electrical response goes to the hearing nerve and then it is send to the brain.
The ear is an extraordinary human organ that many people take for granted until it doesn’t function. It is the only device that allows the human to hear sounds in their environment. The ear is made up of many parts that distinguish various sounds through different means. The ear anatomy and physiology along with how sound waves are transmitted into meaningful sounds will help one understand how hearing loss occurs.
The physiology of hearing starts with a vibration that occurs in the air which sends an acoustic signal to the ear drum. The signal is transduced into a mechanical signal that transmits through the inner ear and the cochlear nerve. Finally, the signal is
The middle ear has three ossicles (tiny bones) the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup that connect the middle ear to the inner ear. When sound enters your middle ear, it causes the ossicles to vibrate. These vibrations then move into the cochlea, which is filled with fluid. When the vibrations move the fluid that is in the cochlea, it stimulates tiny hair cells that respond to different frequencies of sound. After the tiny hair cells are stimulated, they direct the frequencies of sound into the auditory nerve, as nerve impulses. (ASHA 2013)
The ear is made up of three parts, the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The ability to hear is dependent on these three parts of the ear working together, and a problem with any part can cause hearing loss (heaing loss education centre, 2012). The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the auditory hearing nerve and the brain. These are the organs of hearing and balance and convert sound waves into nerve signals. These signals are sent to the brain using a nerve called the vestibulocochlear nerve. Nerve deafness occurs if there is damage to the inner ear and although it is possible to regain some hearing through the help of a hearing device, nerve deafness is often permanent. (deaf websites, 2013)
Hearing loss is one of the most common physical conditions in the United States. It has been referred to as an invisible condition, as we can’t see it occurring; all we see is the effects of it (Hearing Loss Association of America). The severity of the loss can range in the classifications of mild, moderate, severe, or profound. It can also occur in just one ear, or both. Hearing loss can occur at any age. People can be born with deafness (which is known as congenital hearing loss), or lose their hearing over a gradual period of time. Causes of why hearing loss occurs vary per person. The most common cause of loss is noise and aging. Buildup in the air, injury, ear infection, rupture eardrum are other causes as well. For children who suffer from hearing loss, most are born with it.
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a science fiction book by Nancy Farmer. It is about three children that are the children of General Matsika, he is the chief of security. He has made many enemies that could take revenge on his children. The children's names are Tendai, Rita, and Kuda. They children have never left the house and gone into the city alone. They are part of an troop and Tendai the oldest of the children needs to get a badge that involves exploring and they can’t get the badge at home. They go out exploring and find themselves in deep trouble. The parents hiring the detectives Ear, Eye and Arm. They do an ok job but really I just wanted to yell at them because when Eye heard the the children Arm yelled at him to go do something else.
Our outer ear is made up of the three tiny bones, the cochlea filled with fluid, and our tiny hair receptors that pick up sounds. Once a person is going deaf or is deaf, that means that hair cells are damaged and they can no longer send sound information to our hearing nerves. The implant “does not amplify sound. It bypasses the missing or damaged hair cells altogether, and delivers more sound information directly to the hearing nerve. The cochlear implant has two parts: 1) the implant, which is surgically placed into the Mastoid bone, and 2) the outer device of a headpiece and processor,” (Bhansali. 2001. Paragraph 7, Lines
The purpose for this experiment was to measure the reaction time for auditory stimuli using a measuring ruler and compare to visual cue. In auditory pathway, once the auditory signals arrive into inner ear, the Cochlear hair cells which is he auditory receptor cells, in the organ of Corti of the inner ear receive the sensory stimuli (Hudspeth 2014). There are two types of cochlear hair cells: the inner hair cell that carry out transmitting the signal to the rest of the auditory pathway, and outer cells that mediate the transmitting of information (Hudspeth 2014). According to (Tong, 2013), the cochlear hair cells or presynaptic neurons synapse with spiral ganglion, which are the first afferent nerve fibers. The basolateral membrane of the
Hearing is different from the sense of smell, taste, and sight because it relies on physical movement such as vibrations in the air that are picked up by the ear which causes the eardrum to vibrate. When the vibrations carry through the middle ear, they encounter three bones that are named the hammer, anvil, and the stirrup. These three bones work together to amplify sound waves. The vibrations move from the middle ear into the cochlea that is known as the inner ear. The vibrations in the inner ear cause the fluids called perilymph and endolymph to move around and that is when the brain takes notice. The movement of the fluid bends hair cells that sends signals to the auditory nerve and interprets them. Groups of neurons are decoding every sound that is heard and arranging them to create
The ear is made up of an outer (external), middle and inner ear. The outer and middle ear is mainly involved in transmitting sounds to the inner ear where that sound is processed. The first step in this process involves sound waves entering the external auditory canal and passing the tympanic membrane (otherwise known as the eardrum- this separates the outer ear from the middle ear)( Vander A, Sherman J, Luciano D, 2001). As small air molecules (sound) passes through the tympanic membrane they cause it to vibrate and these vibrations are then passed onto the middle ear (Moore KL, Agur MRA, 2002). The middle ear formed from 3 tiny bones (malleus, incus and stapes)- known as auditory ossicles then
Located in the inner ear, the cochlea is small, but packs a mighty punch. The cochlea plays an important role, as it takes the sound vibrations that it receives and transforms them into nerve impulses. These nerve impulses are then sent to the brain, where they are translated into recognizable sounds. The cochlea is truly amazing, as it helps us perceive the sense that we refer to as “hearing”. In fact, the cochlea is considered to be the most complex part of the ear! Learn more about this amazing organ with these amazing cochlea facts.
The inner ear is made up of a complex interconnectedness of small bones. The incus, stapes and malleus are the three small bones of which the inner ear is composed. The function of this evolutionary development is to allow for hearing and furthermore acts to assist in balance. These three bones are collectively referred to as ossicles. The efficiency of these features allow for an acute sense of hearing in vertebrates. The physical shape of the stapes varies among different cladistics groups of animals. Specifically, the Epitherians, consisting of placental mammals, and excluding Xenarthra (sloths and their relatives) maintain a different shaped stapes in comparison to more primitive
When air is mechanically disturbed, sound waves are created. Sound waves enter the ear canal causing the eardrum and a series of three small bones in the middle ear to vibrate. This vibration is carried further into the inner ear (or cochlea) which is filled with fluid. As the fluid vibrates, tiny hair cells in the cochlea sway and bend, resulting in the generation of electrical impulses which are carried to the brain via the hearing nerve. The brain interprets this as sound and characterises the sound by its pitch (frequency) and volume (intensity).
The ear is looked upon as a miniature receiver, amplifier and signal-processing system. The structure of the outer ear catching sound waves as they move into the external auditory canal. The sound waves then hit the eardrum and the pressure of the air causes the drum to vibrate back and forth. When the eardrum vibrates its neighbour the malleus then vibrates too. The vibrations are then transmitted from the malleus to the incus and then to the stapes. Together