SO YOU CAN HEAR, BUT IT’S NOT CLEAR

Sound enters your ear canal through the air. Sound reaches your eardrum, which vibrates, starting a chain reaction. The ear drum is connected to the first of three tiny bones. These bones are hinged and each causes the one next to it to move. This movement vibrates against the oval window in your cochlea, sending sound waves through this snail shaped organ. Inside the cochlea are thousands of microscopic hair cells called Stereocilia, and these hair cells sense the motion of sound waves. Consonants like S, T, K, and P, are sensed in the initial section of the cochlea (shown in red). Medium speech tones are picked up in the mid section (in yellow), and low tones are picked up in the last section (in blue). When hair cells move, they send an electrical impulse through the Eighth Nerve to your brain and you hear the sound!

Hearing Problem #1

The ear canal’s job is to funnel sound to your ear drum. Sometimes the canal becomes plugged with wax, which mimics a hearing loss because it blocks sound from reaching your eardrum. Use of a cotton swab will pack wax even more.

Hearing Problem #2

The three tiny bones of your middle ear conduct sound between your ear drum and your cochlea. Otosclerosis is the calcification of these bones, resulting in conductive hearing loss. Only about 10% of people have conductive hearing loss.

Hearing Problem #3

The cochlea is a snail-shaped organ containing thousands of living hair cells called stereocilia. A condition known as sensorineural hearing loss occurs when any of the hair cells become damaged. About 90% of hearing loss is this type. Sound waves inside the cochlea Living hair cells detect sound waves Nerves send sound signals to the brain Hearing Problem #4 Tinnitus is the phantom sensation of ringing in the ears. It is the result of damaged or misfiring nerves between the cochlea and the brain.