Download Module - Mount Sinai Hospital

Early Intervention
Training Center
for Infants and Toddlers With
Visual Impairments
Module:
Developmentally Appropriate Orientation and Mobility
Session 2: Sensory Development
Handout F: Diagram of the Human Hearing System
Esse, S., & Thibodeau, L. (n.d.). The ear. Retrieved April 27, 2004, from the University
of Texas at Dallas, Callier Center for Communication Disorders, Advanced
Hearing Research Center Web site:
http://www.utdallas.edu/~thib/rehabinfo/te.htm
Reprinted with permission.
The ear is made up of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The
outer ear consists of the auricle (pinna) and the external auditory canal. The middle ear
consists of the tympanic membrane (eardrum), the ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes),
and the Eustachian tube. The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the vestibular system,
and the auditory nerve. The auricle collects sound waves, which are funneled by the
external auditory canal to the tympanic membrane. The sound waves hit the tympanic
membrane and set the ossicles into vibration. This vibration moves the footplate of the
stapes in and out of the cochlea's oval window. The fluid inside of the cochlea is set into
motion generating nerve impulses. These nerve impulses are then transmitted by the
auditory nerve to the brain, where they are heard as sound.
O&M Module 8/12/04
EIVI-FPG Child Development Institute
UNC-CH
S2 Handout F
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