… because communication IS life!

Hearing Care by Dr. David Hough, PhD

The Ear

The EXTERNAL EAR captures sound with the pinna channeling it to the eardrum by the ear canal.

 

The MIDDLE EAR has the three smallest bones in the body which vibrate along with the eardrum to incoming sound. The last of the middle ear bones vibrates in a ‘window’ of the skull producing fluid waves in the inner ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The INNER EAR has hair cells which fire a chemo-electric signal to the brain as they move with the fluid waves caused by the vibrating middle ear bones. The brain translates the electric signal as sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISEASES afflicting hearing loss can occur at any stage in the hearing process. Blockage (as with earwax) can keep sound from entering through the external ear. Middle ear problems, such as infections, can hinder the eardrum and the middle ear bones from vibrating properly. The inner ear hair cells can be damaged due to excessive noise exposure or toxic medications, or the brain itself may not translate the sound properly as with a stroke or other neuropathy. Other symptoms may accompany these and many other diseases of the ear including ringing or roaring tinnitus and dizziness. Some of these symptoms may relate to serious diseases and should be addressed by professionals.

 

 

The middle ear

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             Eardrum

The inner ear