Hearing and equilibrum

Question 1

What does hearing enable us to do?
And what does equilibrum enable us to do?

Answer 1

Hearing –> detect and interpret sound waves

Equilibrum —> informs us on our postition of our body in space by monitoring gravity, linear acceleration, and rotation

Question 2

What does this part of the EXTRERNAL ear do?
Auricle

Answer 2

-protects opening into the ear
-provides directional sensitivity to the ear (moves towards source of sound)

Question 3

What does this part of the EXTRERNAL ear do?
External acoustic meatus

Answer 3

allows sound waves to travel from the external ear to the middle ear(eardrum)

Question 4

What does the external acoustic meatus contain A LOT of and what do they do?

Answer 4

Ear wax and ear hair.

Ear wax —->decreases risk of microrganism growth
ear hair —–> keeps debri and insects out of ear

Question 5

What does this part of the EXTRERNAL ear do?
Tympanic membrane

Answer 5

transmits sound from air into the ossicles of the middle ear

Question 6

What does this part of the MIDDLE ear do?
typanic cavity

Answer 6

filled with air which helps with equilization of pressure on each side of the ear drum

Question 7

What does this part of the MIDDLE ear do?
Auditory ossicles

Answer 7

-3 tiny bones (malleis, incus, and stapes) which connect the tympanum with the inner ear

Question 8

The ________ is much larger than the oval window and is very sensitive to sounds that get amplified into the oval windo.

Answer 8

tympanic membrane

Question 9

Lound noises can be controleld by these two mucles:

Answer 9

The tensor typani and the stapedius

Question 10

explain what the tensor typani and the stapedius do

Answer 10

Tensor typani: pulls on the tympanon to reduce vibrations from tymanic membrane

Stapedius: pulls on the stapes to reduce vibrations in the oval window