The ear has three main parts:

  • The Outer ear (includes the Pinna and External Auditory Canal),
  • Middle ear (Tympanic Membrane and the 3 Ossicles)
  • Inner ear (Cochlea)

The outer ear or the Pinna leads into the ear canal (where the wax is formed). The eardrum or the tympanic membrane separates the ear canal from the middle ear. The middle ear contains three small bones which help amplify and transfer sound to the inner ear. These three bones, or ossicles, are called the Malleus, the Incus, and the Stapes (also referred to as the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup resp.). The inner ear contains the cochlea which changes sound into neurological signals which are conveyed to the brain via the Auditory Nerve.

When sound enters the ear canal, it causes the ear drum to vibrate. As a result of this the three tiny bones (ossicles) move and cause vibrations in the fluid in the cochlea (inner ear). The cochlea is arranged like the keys of a piano and in humans, can hear frequencies as low as 20Hz to as high as 20000Hz. The fluid movement results in the movement of the hair cells in the inner ear converting the mechanical energy into electrical impulses. The electrical impulses are carried by the auditory nerve to the brain and this is where they are interpreted as sound.