1. The Human Ear and Hearing

2. Initial experiments on the frequency sensitivity of the human ear.

3. Color-coded ~ three regions

4. How the Ear Works Part I:
                                                                                                                                             
Part I:
Sound waves enter the ear canal and vibrate against the tympanic membrane.

5. How the Ear Works
                                                                                                                                             
Part II: Sound passes through the tympanic membrane, vibrates the tiny bones of the ear, and is translated to a nerve impulse through the cochlea. The cochleus, in turn, sends sound impulses to the temporal lobe of the brain. The ear is also responsible for the sense of balance, which occurs within the vestibular apparatus. The vestibular apparatus translates information about the body's position to the brainstem.

7. The physics of transmitting sound
sound wave vibrations in the air
into solid - bones
into liquid -cochlea
to the nerve #VIII
to the brain

8. Parts and more parts…

9. Parts is parts… Helix - The in-curve rim of the external ear
Antihelix - A landmark of the outer ear
Lobule - A landmark of the outer ear. The very bottom part of the outer ear
Crest of Helix - A landmark of the outer ear
ExternalAuditory Meatus - or External Auditory Canal. The auditory canal is the channel through which the sounds are led from the ear outside to the middle ear.

10. Parts is parts…
6. Eardrum - (tympanic membrane) A thin layer of skin at the end of the external ear canal
7. Auditory Ossicles - The three small bones in the middle ear, know as the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) and stirrup (stapes) which are connected to one another. Together these ossicles are called the ossicular chain. Their purpose is to lead the sound striking the eardrum further into the inner ear
8. Oval Window - An opening in the bone between the air filled middle ear cavity and the fluid filled inner ear, and is covered by a thin membrane

11. Parts is parts…
9. Cochlea - Part of the inner ear that contains part of the hearing organs.
10. Semicircular Canals - Part of the organ of balance that is part of the inner ear
11. Eighth (VIII) Nerve - Nerve that transmits messages from the inner ear to the brain.
12. Eustachian Tube - A tube connecting the middle ear cavity and the pharynx (back of the throat). It can be opened by coughing or swallowing, though it is normally closed. The occasional opening of the Eustachian tube is necessary to equalize the are in the middle ear cavity

12. The middle ear

13. Three Bones of the Ear
The ear ossicles are the smallest bones in the human body and are housed within the tympanic cavity.
They are named for their distinctive shapes -- malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup).
The dime placed next to them gives you a perspective of the size of the bones.

14. The inner ear

15. Cochlea

16. Organ of Corti

17. Ear Infections
                                                                                                                                             
Ear infections of the outer, middle, and inner ear

18. See the interactive ear
                                                            
The Interactive Ear
The Interactive Ear