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Ears and Balance---
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Ears
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Did you know?
If you ever put a sea shell up to your ear, you hear something like the ocean.
Actually, that sound is the echo of the blood moving through your ears! |
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There are three parts of the ear: the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. Let's explain how the ear works.
The outer ear is the part of the ear we see. It is shaped like a cup so it can funnel sound to the rest of the ear. Without that cup-like shape, we wouldn't hear as well (everything would seem more faint). The outer ear directs sound into the ear and to the middle ear.
Inside the middle ear are three small bones: the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. These bones are connected to the ear drum, which is what separates the outer ear from the middle ear.
When sound comes to your middle ear, it causes the ear drum to vibrate just like a drum. These vibrations make those three small bones move as well.
The inner ear has three parts. In the center is the vestube. It is like a very small bag that has little hairs in it. When the three little bones move, the vestube and the liquid inside moves. When the liquid moves, the hairs move. The brain can sense how much the hairs move. Then it can figure out what the sound was. Pretty complicated huh?
Here is a more complete diagram of the ear.
Now I want to tell you about how ears are related to balance!
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