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Hearing is one of the five human senses.
Hearing | Sight | Smell | Taste | Touch
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
How We Hear
We use our ears to hear sounds.
Sounds travel through the air and our ears
as sound waves.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
How We Hear
• Sound waves are collected
by the outer part of the ear,
called the pinna.
• The pinna is the only part of
the ear that you can see
with your eye.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
How We Hear
• After the sound waves are
collected by the pinna they
are sent through the ear
canal before reaching the
ear drum.
• When the sound waves hit
the ear drum, it vibrates.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
How We Hear
• The vibrations from the ear
drum make three small
bones in the ear vibrate.
o The hammer
o The anvil
o The stirrup
stirrup
• Those three bones together
are called the ossicles.
anvil
hammer
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
How We Hear
• The vibration of the
ossicles transfer the sound
waves to the inner ear.
semicircular canals
• The inner ear has two
parts, the cochlea and the
semicircular canals.
• The semicircular canals.
help you determine
movement and to stay
balanced.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
cochlea
How We Hear
• As the sound waves pass
through the cochlea, they
cause microscopic hair cells
to vibrate.
auditory nerve
cochlea
• These hair cells, called cilia,
are linked to the auditory
nerve. When the cilia
vibrate they send an electric
impulse signal to our brain.
• When the signal reaches
the brain, we hear!
Cilia
From David J. Lim. Functional Structure of the Organ of
Corti: A Review. Hearing Research, 22 (1986) 117-146
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Taking Care of Our Ears
• Just like our eyes and teeth, we need to
make sure we take care of our ears.
• The people who take care of our ears are
called AUDIOLOGISTS.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Audiologists
• An audiologist is the person you visit to have your ears
checked.
o He or she will look inside your ears with a tool called an
otoscope.
o The otoscope lets the audiologist see if you have anything
stuck in your ears that shouldn’t be.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Audiologists
• Audiologists also test your hearing using beeps, words, and
other sounds.
o
During a hearing test, an audiologist will have you sit in a
special room, that is completely quiet to see what sounds
you can hear.
o
Sometimes the audiologist will have you point out pictures
that go with the sounds or play games where you have to
listen to the sounds.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Some Reasons We Lose Our
Hearing
• Babies are sometimes born not hearing as well or not
hearing at all.
• Adults and kids can lose their hearing from being around
noises that are too loud (noise-induced hearing loss –
NIHL).
• As adults get older, they can start to lose their hearing.
• Some diseases can make you lose your hearing.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Types of Hearing Loss
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Conductive Hearing Loss
Mixed Hearing Loss
• The safest way to determine if you have a hearing loss is to
visit your audiologist for a hearing evaluation. An audiologist
can then work with you to determine the best treatment
option for you hearing loss.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
• When the cilia in the cochlea
become broken or bent, they no
longer vibrate correctly and the
electric impulse signal does not get
sent to our brain.
• Once those hair cells break or bend,
they can never be fixed.
• Noise-induced hearing loss or NIHL,
happens when we are around
noises that are too loud, causing
our cilia to over vibrate and
become damaged.
From David J. Lim. Functional Structure of the Organ of
Corti: A Review. Hearing Research, 22 (1986) 117-146
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss happens when the sound
waves are not able to reach the inner ear.
Some of the reasons this can happen are:
• Blockage in the ear canal from:
o Ear wax (cerumen) build-up.
o A foreign object lodged in there.
• Fluid occupying the middle ear space.
o This happens a lot due to ear infections, also called otitis
media.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Mixed Hearing Loss
• Hearing loss that involves both sensorineural and conductive
hearing loss components.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Hearing Aids
If you have a hearing loss, sometimes an audiologist will
recommend that you get a hearing aid.
Hearing Aids are:
o Special devices you place in your ear to help you hear
better.
o Comfortable to wear and come in a lot of colors and
designs.
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
Remember to spell out E A R S
to protect your hearing
E - earplugs (wear them when it’s too noisy)
A - Avoid loud sounds
R - Reduce the sound (turn down the volume)
S – Shorten the time you listen to the noise (less than
30 minutes)
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org
If you think you or someone you
know might have a hearing
problem?
Tell your parents to go online to
www.HowsYourHearing.org
to find an audiologist near you.
Questions???
American Academy of Audiology | HowsYourHearing.org