Your ear is a very fundamental part of your body. It has the function that allows you to hear sounds, like animals, movies or even danger approaching. Some people are unfortunately unable to hear the great things in life that brighten your day. To fully understand this topic, you must first understand how the ear works normally.

There are three parts in an ear. The first part is the only part that people can see. It is called the outer ear. The scientific term for the outer ear is the pinna or the auricle. It holds the ear canal in place. The outer ear's main function is to collect the sounds all around us. Then the sounds travel through the ear canal. The ear canal also produces ear wax to protect the canal from damage. From there the sounds travel into the second part of your ear and into the middle ear.

The second part of you ear is through the ear canal and is called the middle ear. The middle ear holds the eardrum. The main function of the middle ear is to turn the sounds that travel through the ear canal into vibrations. When sound hits the eardrum, the eardrum begins to vibrate and it sends signal deeper into your ear in the form of vibrations. It is a very fascinating cycle. The ear drum is the only thing that separates the middle ear from the ossile and the final part of your ear,the inner ear.

You may be wondering what on earth an ossicle is. I will now tell you. The ossicle are the tiniest bones in your body. I guess the ear has a claim to fame other than the fact that it allows you to hear. There are three ossicles in your body. Their names are the Incus, the Stapes and the Malleous. The Incus is attached to your eardrum and it means anvil in Latin. The Stapes is the smallest bone in your body. It is attached to the Incus and it means stirrup in Latin. Finally, the Malleous is attached to your eardrum and it means hammer in Latin. When the eardrum vibrates, the ossicles move, collide, and send the vibrations on their path.

The final stop that sounds make is in the inner ear. In order for sound to get to the inner ear, it has to travel through the eardrum where the sound is converted into vibrations, and it then travels through the cochlea before it reaches the inner ear. The cochlea is lined with tiny hairs and it has a liquid inside of it. When the vibrations hit the liquid, the liquid creates waves which shake the tiny hairs. When the hairs move it sends nerve signals to your brain where it is "decoded" and made into sounds.

Now that you understand how the ear does it's magnificent job to allow us to hear things all around us, it is time you understand the deafness in the world. Deafness is an advanced hearing disorder. The are two types of deafness.

The first type of deafness is called conductive deafness. Conductive deafness changes the making of sound when sound goes through the outer and middle ear messing up hearing before the sound can reach the cochlea and the nerve hairs of the inner ear. Most of the time, conductive deafness is temporary or can be cured. Most temporary and curable cases are caused by otitis media. Otitis media is an infection that spreads to the middle ear from the outer ear. Most cases of conductive deafness can be cured by taking antibiotics. Sometimes, in very serious cases, the only way to cure conductive deafness is if you drain all of the fluids on the cochlea. There are two ways to drain the fluids. One is to cut a small incision into the eardrum, allowing the fluids to seep through. The other is to insert a tin drainage tube into the eardrum. To much wax can also cause hearing loss and must be removed by a physician. In adults the main cause of conductive deafness is otosclerosis. This is a disease that basically stops the stapes from moving or vibration to send messages to the cochlea. The only way to cure otosclerosis is by have surgeons go into your ear and replace the stapes with plastic, small pieces of grafted tissue and small wire appliances. Deafness can also be cause by a sudden noise that ruptures the ear drum, a physical puncturing, or an infecting disease. In some of these cases, the eardrum can be repaired by grafting. Today there are many ways to cure deafness, but if you don't tell someone, the problem could become to big to heal.

The second type of deafness is called Sensorineural deafness: it is caused by damage to the nerves in the cochlea, the nerve pathways to the brain or the receptive nerves the decode the vibrations. This type of deafness is usually permanent. Though you may not realize it, there are many ways to get sensorineural deafness. These include tumours, injury, stroke, toxic substances like mercury, and some over-the-counter prescription drugs. Non stop loud noise, like in a factory or really loud music can also cause damage to the inner ear and irreversible hearing loss. On occasion, the patients can be givin limited hearing if they stop taking dangerous medication, or avoiding loud noises( for example, wearing protective earplugs). Sometimes, cochlear implants can be used to restore some hearing. Cochlear implants are tiny devices implanted into the inner ear that translate vibration into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain.

I am glad that you now know all the facts about deafness. It is amazing that so many things can cause deafness. So now, as a final word of advise, I suggest that you don't take your ears for granted, because they do much more for us than you think, and such an amazing and fragile part of your body should not be mistreated.