Hearing and Hearing Loss

Good hearing is so important in our everyday lives, yet most people with normal hearing don’t even think twice about what it means to be able to hear well. Chatting with friends, listening to the sounds of nature, enjoying music or hearing warning signals – they take it all for granted.

So let’s give it the attention it deserves …

How hearing works

The ear is an amazing and incredibly skilled organ that performs the wonderful and highly complex task of hearing. It can distinguish between 7,000 different pitches and enables the brain to locate sound sources. The human ear consists of three parts – the outer, middle, and inner ear. Outer ear: The outer ear picks up sound and transmits it to the eardrum via the ear canal.

Outer ear : The outer ear picks up sound and transmits it to the eardrum via the ear canal.

Middle ear : Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate. The ossicles, called malleus, incus, and stapes, pass the vibration on to the inner ear.

Inner ear : The cochlea converts movements of the ossicles into electrical signals. The auditory nerve transmits the signals to the brain.