How the ear works
On this page we will be explaining why we hear, how normal hearing works and what happens when we have hearing problems.
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How does normal hearing work?
The three parts of the ear anatomy are the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The inner ear is also called the cochlea. (‘Cochlea’ means ‘snail’ in Latin; the cochlea gets its name from its distinctive coiled up shape.)
The outer ear consists of the pinna, ear canal and eardrum
The middle ear consists of the ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) and ear drum
The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the auditory (hearing) nerve and the brain
Sound waves enter the ear canal and make the ear drum vibrate. This action moves the tiny chain of bones (ossicles – malleus, incus, stapes) in the middle ear. The last bone in this chain ‘knocks’ on the membrane window of the cochlea and makes the fluid in the cochlea move. The fluid movement then triggers a response in the hearing nerve.
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Diagram of the human ear
What happens when you have problems with hearing?
When your hearing is working normally, information is being passed through the different parts of the ear to the brain. The type of hearing problem you may have depends on which part of the ear is not responding well.
Outer ear or middle ear problems lead to inefficient transfer of sound. The cochlea is still working but may not receive enough information. This type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss. The problem is that the sound is not being conducted (transferred) well enough. Conductive deafness can be caused by things such as an ear infection, a hole in the eardrum or otosclerosis.
An inner ear (cochlear) problem means that sound arrives at the cochlea, but is then not fully passed on to the hearing nerve. Also it is possible that the hearing nerve itself is not passing on information well, or fails to pass on the sound at all. A cochlear or neural hearing loss is called a sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by things such as old age, Ménière’s Disease or loud noise.
It is possible to have a mixed hearing loss with both a conductive and sensorineural element.
