What are the parts of the ear and their functions?

Answer 1

Outer ear - catches sound in stereo

Eardrum - vibrates to sound

Middle ear - transducer (from big motion to small motion)

Inner ear - original sound detector, converts motion of liquid to nerve impulses

Outer Ear:

- Pinna (also called auricle): It is outer most (and visible) portion of ear. Its external parts are wide while inner portion is narrow. Because of its shape it act as a funnel (collects the sound and directs it through ear canal to ear drum).

- Ear canal (auditory canal): It contains sebaceous glands which secrete ear wax (cerumen) for lubrication of ear.

- Eardrum (tympanic membrane): It is thin membrane located at the end of outer ear. It carries the sound towards middle ear.

Middle Ear

It consists of three ear bones or ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes). These ossicles transmit sound to the inner ear.

- Malleus (also called hammer): It is hammer like ossicle. Its one end is attached to ear drum while other is connected with incus.

- Incus (anvil): It is anvil shaped bone, attached with malleus and stapes.

- Stapes: stirrup shaped bone attached to incus and oval window or vestibular window (membrane covered opening between middle ear and inner ear).

Inner ear

It contains cochlea, vestibule and semicircular canals.

- Cochlea: It is coiled portion and auditory portion of inner ear.

- Semi-circular canal: Three fluid filled canals horizontal semi-circular canal, posterior semi-circular canal and anterior semi-circular canal are called semi-circular canals.

The fluid inside these canals is called endolymph. The dilation at one end of canal is called ampulla. Ampulla contains Cupula and hair cells. Semi-circular canals are responsible for body balance and detect direction of rotation of head.

- Vestibule: It is located between the semi-circular canals and cochlea. Its anterior and inferior part has several minute holes for the passage of filaments of acoustic nerve (auditory nerve) to saccule. Saccule detects the motion of head when it moves vertically. At the upper and back of vestibule a structure called utricle detects the degree of tilt movement of head.

Answer 2

1. The outer ear which consists of the ear lobe, the ear canal (auditory canal) and the superficial layer of the ear drum (tympanic membrane). This part collects sound waves and directs it to the middle ear.
2. The middle ear mainly consists of 3 bones, namely, the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). This helps to conduct the mechanical vibrations caused by the collected sound waves to the inner ear.
3. The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the vestibule and the semi-circular canals. This helps to transfer the mechanical vibrations into electrical impulses that are carried by nerves to the brain. The cochlea also helps in motion sensing and maintaining balance.

Answer 3

The human ear has three main sections, which consist of the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Sound waves enter your outer ear and travel through your ear canal to the middle ear. The ear canal channels the waves to your eardrum, a thin, sensitive membrane stretched tightly over the entrance to your middle ear. The waves cause your eardrum to vibrate. It passes these vibrations on to the hammer, one of three tiny bones in your ear. The hammer vibrating causes the anvil, the small bone touching the hammer, to vibrate. The anvil passes these vibrations to the stirrup, another small bone which touches the anvil. From the stirrup, the vibrations pass into the inner ear. The stirrup touches a liquid filled sack and the vibrations travel into the cochlea, which is shaped like a shell. Inside the cochlea, there are hundreds of special cells attached to nerve fibers, which can transmit information to the brain.

Answer 4

The parts of the ear as follows from the outside of the ear to the inside (get ready for a lot of info): the Pinna, the outer ear canal, the eardrum, the hammer, the anvil, the stirrup, the semicircular canals (3 in total), and the cochlea. There is also the Eustachian tube which travels to the mouth that helps with pressure and protecting the ear from loud sounds.

The function of the parts of the ear from outside of the ear to the inside: The pinna directs the sound into the ear because of its shape, the sound travels through the ear canal and then reaches the eardrum. The eardrum vibrates which in turn makes all three bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) vibrate. The semicircular canals help with pitch and the sense of balance. The vibrations then go to the cochlea in which they are transformed into nerve impulses. These impulses then get sent to the brain.

This is essentially the parts of the ear and their workings.

Answer 5

The parts of the outer ear are the ear flap, or pinna, along with the ear canal, or auditory canal. The outer ear protects the ear, collects sounds, and channels them to the middle ear. After the sound waves have been collected and focused, they travel down the ear canal to the middle ear. The middle ear consists of the eardrum and three tiny, interconnected bones — the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The ear drum vibrates in sympathy, or at the same rate, with the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations being received. As the eardrum is compressed it causes the hammer, anvil, and stirrup to move. These three tiny bones act as amplifiers for the vibrations of the sound waves. The hammer vibrates against the anvil at the same frequency as the sound waves that enter the ear. The stirrup is connected to the inner ear; and the mechanical vibrations of the stirrup transmit to the fluid of the middle ear and create a compression wave within the fluid. The stirrup sends the vibration into a chamber filled with fluid, shaped like a snail shell, called the cochlea. The area inside the cochlea is lined with small hair-like receivers that sort the sound according to pitch and convert the vibrations into electrical signals. The purpose of the semicircular canals is to provide constant information to the brain about the position of the head. Fluid circulating through the semicircular canals continuously transmits signals about motion and position. The brain uses this information to make adjustments to the position of the body in order to maintain balance. Electrical signals from the cochlea and the semicircular canals are then sent to the brain by the auditory nerve. The brain processes these signals and interprets them, and the phenomenon of hearing is produced.

Answer 6

The outer ear collects and focuses a sound wave, the middle ear converts it into a mechanical wave, and finally, the inner ear converts the mechanical wave into an electrical wave.

Answer 7

Eardrum, ear, etc.