The Ear and Hearing

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.