ABOUT EAR

The ear is an organ that primarily enables our sense of hearing and maintaining balance. It consists of three parts – the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear.

The outer ear includes the pinna, ear canal, and eardrum. The pinna is responsible for catching the sound and sending it to the eardrum through the ear canal with a protective lining of wax-producing glands and hair, which filter out dust particles and stop small objects. The eardrum is a slender membrane separating the middle ear from the ear canal. The eardrum vibrates when sound travels down the ear canal and passes the sound to the middle ear.

The middle ear is a hollow air-filled nook containing three tiny bones or ossicles, namely, stapes, incus, and malleus. These ossicles amplify the vibration of the ear and further pass it to the inner ear. The middle ear is attached to the nose, and another hollow air-filled cavity called a mastoid is located behind the ear through the eustachian tube. The function of the Eustachian tube is to maintain pressure inside and outside the drum while opening the mouth during yawning and swallowing.

The inner ear contains the cochlea which is responsible for changing sound vibrations into a nerve signal and a vestibule with semicircular canals that regulates our sense of position and balance. When any ear component is diseased, it leads to hearing loss and dizziness due to the imbalance created.