The outer ear consists of an ear flap and an approximately 2-cm long ear canal. The ear flap provides protection for the middle ear in order to prevent damage to the eardrum. The outer ear also channels sound waves which reach the ear through the ear canal to the eardrum of the middle ear.
The middle ear is an air-filled cavity which consists of an eardrum and three tiny, interconnected bones - the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The eardrum is a very durable and tightly stretched membrane which vibrates as the incoming pressure waves reach it.
The inner ear consists of a cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the auditory nerve. The cochlea and the semicircular canals are filled with a water-like fluid. The fluid and nerve cells of the semicircular canals provide no roll in the task of hearing; they merely serve as accelerometers for detecting accelerated movements and assisting in the task of maintaining balance.
Sound waves pass through the auditory canal and beat against the eardrum, causing vibrations in the 3 small bones, or ossicles, in the middle ear. The third bone, the stapes or stirrup, is the smallest bone in the human body, and it fits into an area called the oval window which is located between the middle ear and the inner ear. When the stapes vibrates, fluid in the inner ear carries the vibrations into the canal of a delicate spiral structure called the cochlea. Thousands of tiny hair cells in the cochlea are connected to the fibres that make up the auditory nerve. The microscopic hair of each hair cell is bent by the movements of the fluid, and this stimulates the hair cells to generate electrical impulses that are carried up the auditory nerve to the brain and interpreted as sound.
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