What are the Ears?
The ears are a complex part of the body which are responsible for hearing. They consist of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear is the visible part, which consists of the pinna (the fleshy part of the ear) and the ear canal. The middle ear is the air-filled space between the outer ear and the inner ear. It contains the three smallest bones in the body, known as the ossicles. The inner ear is a fluid-filled space which houses the organ of hearing, known as the cochlea.
How Do the Ears Hear?
Sound is picked up by the pinna and sent down the ear canal to the middle ear. Here, the ossicles vibrate and amplify the sound, before sending it to the inner ear. The inner ear is a snail-shaped organ filled with fluid, which contains tiny hair cells. When sound waves enter the inner ear, the hair cells are stimulated, sending an electrical signal to the brain. This signal is decoded by the brain, and this is how we are able to hear.
5 Amazing Facts About How the Ears Hear
1. The pinna is responsible for collecting and amplifying sound – it can amplify sound by up to 10 decibels.
2. The ossicles are the three smallest bones in the body and are responsible for amplifying sound and sending it to the inner ear.
3. The cochlea is a snail-shaped organ filled with fluid which contains tiny hair cells. When sound waves enter the inner ear, the hair cells are stimulated, sending an electrical signal to the brain.
4. The human ear is able to detect sound frequencies in the range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
5. The human ear is able to distinguish between two sounds that are as little as 0.1 milliseconds apart. This is particularly useful when it comes to understanding speech.
Conclusion
The ears are a complex organ which are responsible for hearing. The pinna collects and amplifies sound before sending it to the middle ear, where the ossicles amplify it and send it to the inner ear. The inner ear contains the cochlea which houses the hair cells, which convert sound waves into electrical signals which are sent to the brain. The ears have some amazing abilities such as being able to detect sound frequencies in the range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and distinguish between two sounds that are as little as 0.1 milliseconds apart.
