THE HUMAN EAR AND SIMPLE TESTS OF HEARING Ear Anatomy  Outer Ear  Auricle, external auditory canal and the tympanic membrane  Middle Ear  An air filled space, ossicular chain  Inner Ear  Cochlea

PATHWAYS OF SOUND Air Conduction  Sound travels through the air and courses through the outer, middle and inner ear  Auricle acts as a funnel to collect sound  Sound waves hit TM and sets the bones into motion  The bones tap cochlea, causing the inner ear fluid to move  Fluid motion activate hair cells, sending signals to auditory nerve  Auditory nerve fires, sending signal to brain

How the ear works Sound traveling through ear

PATHWAYS OF SOUND Bone Conduction  Sound travels through bone vibration  Bypass the outer and middle ear to direct sound to the inner ear through skull vibrations  Cochlea vibrates setting fluids into motion  Hair cells activate sending signals to Auditory Nerve  Auditory nerve fires, sending signals to the brain

TYPES OF HEARING LOSS Conductive hearing loss  Abnormal mechanical function  Impaired air conduction with normal bone conduction  Abnormal outer ear or middle ear with normal inner ear Sensorineural hearing loss  Abnormal sensory or neural function  Impaired air and bone conduction  Abnormal inner ear or auditory nerve with normal outer/middle ear function Mixed Hearing Loss  Combined conductive and sensorineural hearing loss  Abnormality in outer/middle ear and inner ear