How do we hear
Outer Ear
Sound waves are first collected in the outer ear, pass through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are in turn transmitted to the inner ear by the three ear bones in the middle ear.
Middle Ear
Sound waves travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. The movement of the eardrum causes the tiny ear bones to vibrate, and these vibrate the oval window. The Eustachian tube serves to equalize pressure between the outer and middle ear.
Inner Ear
This enables sound to be transmitted to the cochlea in the inner ear, which in turn sets the cochlear fluid in motion. The tiny hair cells in the cochlea respond to this movement by creating electrical signals. These are carried along the hearing nerve to the brain, where they are processed and interpreted as sound.
Getting to know … hearing loss
Hearing loss is any degree of impairment of the ability to apprehend sound and can be categorized as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound….
Can be categorized into 3 types: Conductive, Sensorineural and Mixed …
Approximately 500 million individuals in all age groups have hearing loss worldwide. According to WHO, while 360 million (5.3% of the world’s population) of whom has moderate to profound hearing loss.
Often treated medically, surgically, by hearing aids or by cochlear implants …
