A

Audition

It’s the brain that interprets the sound

Auricula

Did you know?
That the ear has the auricula, which works as a funnel and directs the sound to the tympanum, a membrane that vibrates according to the sound?

In this area, the sound vibrates three ossicles, focus energy and is amplified in 28 dB (decibels).
Compare: when we talk, the sound is close to 50 dB, a blender makes a noise of 90 dB, and a plane, 120 dB, when near the turbine in the runway.
Hearing loud sounds may harm your hearing in an irreversible way.

B

Incus, malleous, stapes

The ossicular chain has the smallest bones in our body

The human hearing device is divided into three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear.

There are three bones smaller than a grain of rice (the smallest in the human body) in the middle ear, which vibrate with the sound. They are the malleous (hammer), the incus (anvil) and the stapes (stirrup), they are named after the objects they resemble.

C

Region of the inner ear that transforms sound into eletrical pulse.

When arriving in the outer ear and going through to the middle ear, the sound is transmitted in the form of mechanical energy. On its way, it passes by liquids of the inner ear where it is transformed in electrical signals, which are sent to the brain. Hearing is an interpretation that the brain makes of the received signals.

D

External acoustic meatus, Eustachian tube

Eustachian tube is the canal that communicates the middle ear with the air and acts in the balance of air pressures at the both sides of the tympanum.

In the middle ear there is also the Eustachian tube, which opens and closes as we swallow or yawn, allowing the balance of air pressure in both sides of the tympanum. Whenever we change altitudes during plane trips, going up or down mountains, or when diving, there may be an unbalance in the air pressure. Therefore we have the impression of being half deaf.

Babies may suffer otitis media because their tube is shorter and horizontal, factors that may result in reflux when breastfed lying down.

E

Semicircular canals, Vestibule, Cochlea

The inner ear shelters the labyrinth, acts in the control of hearing and also in our balance.

Labyrinthitis is an inflammation or infection of the labyrinth, causing dizziness and nausea, which may compromise the hearing. The disease may affect the vestibule, the semicircular canals and the cochlea, all found in the inner ear.