The Ears

Sounds around you are heard with your ears. Without your ears, you would live in a silent world.

PARTS OF THE EAR

You hear sounds. Sound travels to your ears through the air. The ear is made up of the outer ear, middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear is made up of the auricle, the ear canal, and the eardrum. The eardrum separates the outer ear from the middle ear. The outer ear collects the sound waves from the air.

On the other side of the eardrum is the middle ear. It vibrates as sound waves reach it. It consists of three tiny bones called hammer, anvil, and stirrup.

The vibration of the three little bones causes the liquid inside the small tubes in the inner ear to vibrate, too.

The small coiled tube is the cochlea. It is filled with liquid that makes the sound bigger. When the liquid in the cochlea vibrates, the nerve impulses pick up the vibrations. These vibrations are carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. Then you can tell what sound you heard.

The inner ear has a very delicate part. It looks like a coiled spring. These are called semi-circular canals found above the cochlea.

The picture below shows the semi-circular canals.

These canals have nothing to do with hearing. Their job is to keep your balance. To protect your balance, you should not allow others to hit your ear. When your semi-circular canal is hurt, your sense of balance is destroyed. Then you cannot hold your head erect. You cannot walk straight too.