How Do We Hear?
Sound enters the ear canal as pressure
waves of varying pitch and volume.
Where ear wax
is secreted
These waves pass down the ear canal
and beat on the ear drum
Ear canal
causing it to vibrate.
Balance organ
The ear drum sends
Middle ear cavity
these vibrations to the
Inner ear
three middle ear bones
which in turn vibrate
against the hearing
organ known as the
Pinna
Cochlea.
Ear drum
In the Cochlea the
travelling sound wave
stimulates specific sensory cells (called
Eustachian tube
hair cells) according to the pitch and
volume of the sound signal. This in turn
triggers an electrical impulse along the
although it is known that
auditory nerve to the brain.
hearing activates more areas of the
brain than any other sense. So it is
In fact we are still discovering how much
very important to preserve and protect
hearing activates new parts of the brain,
this most important ability.
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