The eardrum is so sensitive to sound vibrations in the ear canal that it can detect even the faintest sound as well as replicating even the most complex of sound vibration patterns. These sound waves make the eardrum vibrate. Sound waves, which are really vibrations in the air around us, are collected by the pinna on each side of our head and are funnelled into the ear canals. The physiology of hearing, just like its anatomy, is very complex indeed and is best understood by looking at the role played by each part of our hearing system described above. Diagram of the main parts of the peripheral hearing system The central hearing system consists of the auditory nerve and an incredibly complex pathway through the brain stem and onward to the auditory cortex of the brain. The cochlea is filled with special fluids which are important to the process of hearing. The cochlea, which contains many thousands of sensory cells (called ‘hair cells’), is connected to the central hearing system by the hearing or auditory nerve. The hearing part of the inner ear and is called the cochlea which comes from the Greek word for ‘snail’ because of its distinctive coiled shape.
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