Deafness, or a loss of hearing, is classified as a partial or complete inability for an individual to hear sounds in one ear or both.
The ear itself is an amazing structure.
It's one of the most minuscule and the most complex organs within the human body.
It can turn even the smallest of disturbances within the air into a simple form that the brain is capable of understanding, which is an instantaneous process covering a huge range of loudness and pitch.
Considering just how delicate the ear is, it is extremely resilient.
However, an injury or illness can create an issue with our abilities to hear the sounds of our environment properly.
Recently, there have been many advances making it possible to decide what caused the hearing loss in almost all cases, as well as treating the loss in many ears.
All About Your Ear Three major parts make up the ear: • Outer • Middle • Inner Your outer ear is composed of two individual parts: • Auricle - A trumpet-shaped part of your ear that protrudes on either side of your head • Auditory Canal - The tube that leads into your ear within the middle ear, there are three key elements: • Eardrum - This membrane stretches from your inner ear and to the end of the auditory canal • Eustachian Tube - Your middle ear is full of air.
The Eustachian tube is a narrow opening from your middle ear into the throat.
It works to equalize the amount of pressure felt in both of your eardrums.
• Ossicles - Three small bones chained together to help connect your eardrum into your inner ear.
They are named based upon the shape of the bones: hammer, anvil and stirrup.
Your inner ear chamber, which is filled with fluid, is composed of two separate parts: • Vestibular Labyrinth - This is the portion of the inner ear functioning as a key part of the balance mechanism within the body.
• Cochlea - This part of the ear has the nerve for sensing hearing.
The cochlea is a hollowed out tube inside of the inner ear.
It is coiled in an attempt to resemble that of the shell of a snail.
There is a thin fluid within this area, as well as a specialized structure known as the organ of Corti.
This organ has thousands of miniscule, hair-like, sensory cells.
Call your audiologist today if you feel like you may be suffering from any type of hearing loss.