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All About Hearing Loss
How the Ear Works
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ear diagramThe Ear is made up of three parts:

  • Outer Ear
  • Middle Ear
  • Inner Ear

The picture on the right shows the three parts of the ear:

Outer Ear
Sound travels through the ear canal and makes the eardrum move.

Middle Ear
When the eardrum moves, the three middle ear bones vibrate. This vibration creates movement of fluid in the inner ear.

Inner Ear
The movement of fluid causes the inner ear to send nerve signals to the brain. Once the brain receives the message, it identifies that message as sound.








Sound waves move the eardrum and middle ear bones. When the middle ear bones move, they start movement in the inner ear. This is shown on the left.
Animated drawing by S Blatrix, from "Promenade around the cochlea ' by R Pujol, S. Blatrix, T. Pujol and V. Reclar-Enjalbert, CRIC, University Montpellier 1 - INSERM