2. What are ears and what do they do?
• The ear is made up of three different sections that
work together to collect sounds and send them to the
brain. These three sections are called, the outer ear,
the middle ear and the inner ear.
3. The outer ear; Collecting Sounds
• The outer ear is made up of the pinna—also called the
auricle—and the ear canal. The pinna is the part of the
ear you see on the side of your head. It’s made of
tough cartilage covered by skin. Its main job is to
gather sounds and funnel them to the ear canal, which
is the pathway that leads lining the ear canal make
earwax, which protects the canal by cleaning out the
dirt and helping to prevent infections.
4. The Middle ear; Good Vibrations
• The middle ear is an air-filled cavity that turns sound waves into vibrations and delivers them
to the inner ear. The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by the ‘eardrum’ or tympanic
membrane, a thin piece of tissue stretched tight across the ear canal. Sounds hit the eardrum,
making it move.
• This movements leads to vibrations of three very small bones in the middle ear known as the
ossicles.
The malleus, which is attached to the eardrum
The incus which is attached to the malleus
The stapes “stirrup”, which is attached to the incus and is the smallest bone in the body.
• To hear properly, the pressure on both sides of your eardrum must be equal. When you go up
or down in elevation, the air pressure change and you may feel a popping sensation as your
ears adjust. They adjust with the help of the what we so called Eustachian, a tube that connects
the middle ear to the back of the nose and acts as a sort of pressure valve, so the pressure stays
balanced on both sides of the eardrum.
5. • The malleus, which is attached to the eardrum
• The incus which is attached to the malleus
• The stapes “stirrup”, which is attached to the incus and is the
smallest bone in the body.
• The malleus is the first ossicle and attaches to and moves with the
tympanic membrane.
• The incus transmits vibrations from the malleus to the stapes. The
vibrations then move to the inner ear.
• Stirrup (stapes) — attached to the membrane-covered opening that
connects the middle ear with the inner ear (oval window)
6. The Inner Ear;
Nerve Signals
Start Here
• The vibrations from the middle ear change into nerve signals in the inner
ear. The inner ear includes cochlea and the semicircular canals. The snail-
shaped cochlea changes the vibrations from the middle ear into nerve
signals. These signals travel to the brain along the cochlear nerve, also
known as the auditory nerve.
• The semicircular canals look like three tiny connected tubes. It’s their job
to help you balance. The canals are filled with fluids and lined with tiny
hairs. When your head moves, the fluid in the canal sloshes around,
moving the hairs. The hair send this position information as signals
through the vestibular nerve to your brain. The brain interprets these
signals and send messages to the muscles that help keep you balanced.
• When you spin around and stop, the reason you feel dizzy is because the
fluid in your semicircular canals continues to slosh around for a while,
giving your brain the idea that you’re still spinning even when you aren’t.
When the fluid stops moving, the dizziness goes away.
• The cochlear nerve which is attached to the cochlea and sends sound
information to the brain, and the vestibular nerve, which carries balance
information from the semicircular canals the brain, together make up the
vestibulocochlear nerve.
7. • The cochlea is a hollow, spiral-shaped bone found in the inner ear that plays
a key role in the sense of hearing and participates in the process of auditory
transduction
• The three semicircular canals (SCCs) are components of the bony labyrinth
within the petrous temporal bone, along with the cochlea and vestibule. They
contain the semicircular ducts, part of the membranous labyrinth which are
responsible for kinetic balance.
• Vestibule provides the sense of balance and the information about body
position that allows rapid compensatory movements in response to both self-
induced and externally generated forces.
9. Acoustic neuroma
• It is a benign tumor that grows in the acoustic or eight
cranial nerve. It can affect your hearing and balance and
may cause tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Treatment
options include surgery, radiation therapy (also known
as stereotactic treatment) and careful monitoring.
10. Deafness
• It is a complete loss of hearing. Deafness is often caused by the following:
• Exposure to loud noise
• Some medicine and medical conditions
• Abnormal growth of the tiny bones in the middle ear
• Damage or malfunction in the inner ear
• Problems with the nerve between the cochlear and the brain.
• Symptoms
• Muffling of speech and other sounds.
• Trouble understanding words, especially when in a crowd or a noisy place.
• Trouble hearing the letters of the alphabet that aren't vowels.
• Often asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.
• Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
11. • Some people are born deaf. Others become deaf over time—this is more common in people who work in noisy environments, or
with machinery and loud tools, or who have been in war zones. It is also more common with age.
Earache
Ear pain can come from a problem in your ear, or as referred pain from another part of your body.
Ear infection
It is commonly occurring in children. Middle ear infections (otitis media) usually go away by themselves without
antibiotics. Outer ear (otitis externa) are treated with antibiotic drops.
12. • Also called cerumen is produced by tiny glands in the ear canal and helps keep the ears clean. Some signs
and symptoms of ear wax build up include; hearing problems and dizziness.
Fluid in the Ear
• it is a fluid discharge from your ear and could be an earwax, but sometimes it can be a sign of an ear problem
or injury.
Ear Wax
13. Glue ear
Also known as otitis media with effusion is a condition where
fluid builds up inside your middle ear and becomes thick and
sticky. This can cause hearing loss.
Labyrinthitis
Is an infection of the balancing center in the inner
ear (or labyrinth). The infection can affect the
message sent by the ear to the brain, causing
changing in hearing and balance. It usually develops
suddenly and if treated, clears up in a few weeks. It
is due to the viral infection, such as from a cold or
flu.
14. Meniere’s disease
• Is an inner ear problem that causes hearing and
balance problems. It causes attacks of vertigo, as
well as hearing loss that gets worse over time.
Otosclerosis
• is an inherited condition that affects the middle ear
and causes gradual hearing loss. It is the most
common cause of hearing loss in adults and affects
about 1 in 200 people.
15. How Can I Keep My Ears Healthy?
Don’t stick things like cotton swabs and fingernails
into them. Doing so can scratch the ear canal, push
earwax deeper into the ear, and even rupture the
eardrum. If earwax bothers you, talk to a parent, who
can let your doctor know.
Protect your hearing. Turn down the volume on
video games, TV and especially, portable music
players. Wear hearing protections lie earplugs or
protective earmuffs/headphones if you’ll be around
loud noises (at a concert, car race etc.)
Hearing damage builds over time. But it doesn’t take
long for problems to develop.
