The ear is looked upon as a miniature receiver, amplifier and signal-processing system. The structure of the outer ear catching sound waves as they move into the external auditory canal. The sound waves then hit the eardrum and the pressure of the air causes the drum to vibrate back and forth. When the eardrum vibrates its neighbour the malleus then vibrates too. The vibrations are then transmitted from the malleus to the incus and then to the stapes. Together the three bones increase the pressure which in turn pushes the membrane of the oval window in and out. This movement sets up fluid pressure waves in the perilymph of the cochlea. The bulging of the oval window then pushes on the perilymph of the scala vestibuli. From here the pressure waves are transmitted from the scala vestibuli to the scala tympani and then eventually finds its way to the round window. This causes the round window to bulge outward into the middle ear. The scala vestibuli

The External or Outer Ear - comprises of the auricle or pinna which is the fleshy part of the outer ear. It is cup-shaped and collects and amplifies sound waves which then passes along the ear canal to the ear drum or tympanic membrane. The rim of the auricle is called the helix and the inferior portion is called the lobule. The external auditory canal is a carved tube and contains a few hair and ceruminous glands which are specialized sebaceous or oil glands. These secrete ear wax or cerumen. Both the hairs and the cerumen help prevent dust and foreign objects from entering the ear. A number of people produce large amounts of cerumen, and this sometimes cause the build up to be impacted and can bring about muffle incoming sounds.

The Middle Ear - is an air-filled narrow cavity or cleft that extends vertically for about 15 mm and the distance horizontally is about the same. It is located in the temporal bone and is lined by epithelium. The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by the eardrum and from the inner ear by a thin bony partition that contains two small membrane-covered openings. These membranes are called the oval window and the round window. On the other side of the eardrum, embodies the mechanism for the conduction of sound waves to the internal ear. It comprises of three of the smallest bones in the body, the auditory ossicles which are connected by synovial joints. These bones are called the malleus or hammer, incus or anvil and stapes or stirrup.

Some topics in this essay:
Ear Labyrinth-, Equilibrium Equilibrium, Middle Ear, , Outer Ear, middle ear, hair cells, oval window, semicircular canals, sound waves, scala vestibuli, round window, supporting cells, bony labyrinth, outer ear, cochlear duct scala, cells supporting cells, sound waves hit, semicircular canals vestibule, hair cells supporting,