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How We Hear: |
Understanding hearing loss begins by
understanding how how we hear.
Sound waves are collected by the outer ear and channeled along the ear canal to the eardrum.
When the sound waves hit the eardrum, the impact creates the three bones of the middle
ear to move. The smallest of these bones, the stirrup, fits into the oval window between
the middle and inner ear. |
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When the oval window vibrates, fluid in the inner ear
transmits the vibrations into a delicate, snail-shaped structure
called the cochlea.
In the inner ear, thousands of microscopic hair cells are bent by the wave-like
action of the fluid inside the cochlea. The bending of
these hairs sets off nerve impulses which are then passed through the auditory
nerve to the hearing center of the brain. This center translates the impulses
into sounds the brain can recognize.
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© Copyright 2002 - Tru-Tone Hearing
Aid,
Inc.
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