The Ear

Did you hear that? If you did, then you heard it with your ear. The ear is a very important part of the body. Sounds can be soft or loud and the ear can hear almost all sounds. The ear takes in sounds, then sends this information to the brain. Ears also help you keep your balance so that you don’t fall over.

The ear is made up of three main sections. These parts are the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Each part of the ear plays an important role in hearing. The outer ear is the part that you can see. If you whisper in someone’s ear, you are whispering into the outer ear. The outer ear holds the ear canal. This is where the wax is made. This earwax keeps infections from getting inside the ear. Earwax also collects dirt and keeps the ear clean.

Sound waves enter the ear and travel to the middle ear. Within the middle ear is the eardrum, which the sound waves strike and cause to vibrate.

The inner ear receives the vibrations into the cochlea. This is a small tube in the inner ear. The small tubes are filled with liquid. Tiny hairs line the tube. When the vibrations cause the hair to move, it creates nerve signals that the brain understands is sound. The brain understands the signal and hears the sound.