Ear Flashcards
What are the 3 functions of the ear, excluding hearing?
Detect motion
orientation
maintain balance
What is conductive hearing?
this is where sound can’t travel from the external ear to the inner ear due to a blockage such as wax in the ear or a build up of fluid due to an ear infection, so cannot pass though the middle ear.
what is sensorineural hearing?
This is caused by damage to the sensitive hair like cells called the organ of corti in the inner ear, or damage to the auditory tube.
where does sound initially channel into the ear?
Pinnae
what causes the ear drum to vibrate?
this is due to the waves being passed down the external ear to the ear drum which make it vibrate.
What does the Eustachian dude do?
It connects the middle ear and the trot to be at the same atmospheric pressure.
What happens if the two chambers are not at the same atmospheric pressure?
The ear drum wouldn’t vibrate correctly so could burst the eardrum.
Why/ Where does sound have to be amplified?
why- because sound doesn’t travel well through air
Where- middle ear- incus, malleus and stapes
What is the snail like structure part in the inner ear called and what does it contain?
called the cochlea, and contains a jelly-like fluid called perilymph
what is the membrane lined with sensitive hair like structure called?
organ of corti
what does the round window do?
allows vibrations from the oval window to pass through the perilymph fluid, rippling the membranes and stimulating the sensitive hairs, these fire impulses to the brain along the auditory nerve and are registered by the brain as sounds.
