How We Hear

The ear is divided into three parts; 1) the outer ear, which includes the visible skin and cartilage and the ear canal to the eardrum, 2) the middle ear, which includes the three middle ear bones, and 3) the inner ear or “organ of hearing” called the cochlea. When a sound occurs, it sends vibrations (or sound waves) through the air. The sound waves are captured by your outer ear and are funneled down the ear canal to the eardrum. When the sound waves hit your eardrum it vibrates, and these vibrations travel through the three small bones in your middle ear. The smallest bone passes these vibrations along to the cochlea (a snail-shaped tube in the inner ear). Inside the cochlea are thousands of hair-like cells that are surrounded by fluid. When the cochlea is stimulated, the fluid in the cochlea moves and bends the hair cells thus activating them and sending an impulse to the auditory nerve. This signal travels up the auditory pathways to the brain where it is decoded into what we perceive as sound.

Signs and Symptoms of Hearing Loss
 
Some signs of hearing loss include:

• Muffled hearing.
• Hearing but not “understanding” what a person is saying, especially in the presence of background noise or competing voices.
• Listening to the television or radio at a louder volume than you did in the past.
• Avoiding conversations and social interaction. Social situations can be tiring and stressful if you have to strain to hear. Therefore, you may begin to avoid those situations as hearing becomes more difficult.
• Depression sometimes occurs when hearing loss begins to affect ones social life.
   

Other symptoms that may occur with hearing loss include:

• Tinnitus (a ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing sound in the ear or head).
• Ear pain, fullness, or irritation.
• Pus or fluid draining from the ear.
• Vertigo (a spinning sensation).