2.  Your ears are sense organs that respond to the stimulus of sound.  The sound waves are picked up from the surrounding air, and they are turned into nerve impulses that can be sent to the brain.

3.  Sound waves carry a lot of information (language, music, and noises) all mixed together.  The brain’s job is to sort the signals and make sense out of them.

4.  Sound is produced by vibrations that travel as waves through the air.  The sound waves move outward from the sound and they travel through air, liquids and solids.

5.  There are three main sections of the ear: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear.

6. Outer Ear Canal Eardrum Hammer Anvil Stirrup Cochlea Auditory Nerve

7.  The sound waves enter the outer ear and make the structures in the middle ear vibrate.  When the vibrations reach the inner ear, nerve impulses travel to the brain.

8.  The outer ear is the part of the ear that you can see.  Its shape helps to funnel the sound waves into the auditory canal.

9. TThe ear canal directs sound waves to the eardrum (tympanic membrane). TThe eardrum vibrates and passes the vibrations on to the three bones in the middle ear.

10.  There are three bones in the middle ear: › Hammer (also called Malleus) › Anvil (also called Incus) › Stirrup (also called Stapes)  These are the smallest bones in your body.

11.  The vibrations pass from the eardrum to the hammer, to the anvil, to the stirrup.  Muscles in your ear adjust the tension on the eardrum, in response to the loudness of the sound.

12.  The stirrup then vibrates against a thin membrane that covers the opening of the inner ear.  This membrane transfers the vibrations into the fluid in the cochlea.

13.  The cochlea is a snail- shaped tube that is lined with receptor cells that respond to sound.

14.  Sensory neurons then send these impulses to the brain, through the auditory nerve.

15.  The brain sorts out the different impulses and translates them into sound.