How the Ear Works

The human ear is an organ, with a function of gathering, transmitting, and perceiving sounds from the environment. It is made up of three main parts:

1. External outer ear
2. Air-filled middle ear
3. Fluid-filled inner ear

The outer ear receives and channels sound waves, directing the vibrations to the eardrum. The eardrum and the associated bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations and send them to the inner ear. The vibrations pass through the cochlea, a structure in the inner ear filled with fluid.

Tiny hairs in the cochlea are attached to nerve cells. They translate the vibrations into nerve signals which are passed on to the brain. Different sounds affect the tiny hairs in different ways, which result in different signals passed to your brain. Your brain then interprets these signals as different sounds.

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