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PHYSIOLOGY OF EAR
INTRODUCTION:- The ear is a sensitive organ of the human body. It is mainly concerned with detecting, transmitting and transducing sound. Maintaining a sense of balance is another important function performed by the human ear.
Let us have an overview of the structure and functions of the human ear. Structure of Ear The human ear consists of three parts: • External ear • Middle ear • Internal ear Human Ear Parts
The human ear parts are explained below:
External Ear The external ear is further divided into the following parts: Auricle (Pinna) The auricle comprises a thin plate of elastic cartilage covered by a layer of skin. It consists of funnel-like curves that collect sound waves and transmits them to the middle ear. The lobule consists of adipose and fibrous tissues supplied with blood capillaries. External Auditory Meatus
It is a slightly curved canal supported by bone in its interior part and cartilage in the exterior part.
The meatus or the canal is lined with stratified epithelium and wax glands. Tympanic Membrane This membrane separates the middle ear and the external ear. This part receives and amplifies the sound waves.
Its central part is known as the umbo.
Middle Ear The middle ear comprises the following parts: Tympanic Cavity It is a narrow air-filled cavity separated from the external ear by tympanic membrane and from inner ear by the bony wall. The tympanic cavity has an auditory tube known as the eustachian tube in its anterior wall. Eustachian Tube
The eustachian tube is a 4cm long tube that equalizes air pressure on either side of the tympanic membrane. It connects the tympanic cavity with the nasopharynx. Ear Ossicles
These are responsible for transmitting sound waves from the eardrum to the middle ear. There are three ear ossicles in the human ear: • Malleus: A hammer-shaped part that is attached to the tympanic membrane through the handle and incus through the head. It is the largest ear ossicle. • Incus: An anvil-shaped ear ossicle connected with the stapes.
• Stapes: It is the smallest ossicle and also the smallest bone in the human body.
Inner Ear It comprises two parts: • Bony labyrinth • Membranous labyrinth Bony Labyrinth The bony labyrinth comprises a vestibule, three semi-circular canals, and spirally coiled cochlea. It is filled with perilymph. Membranous labyrinth
The bony labyrinth surrounds the membranous labyrinth. It comprises sensory
receptors responsible for balance and hearing. The membranous labyrinth is filled with endolymph and comprises three semi-circular ducts, cochlear duct, saccule and utricle. The sensory receptors include cristae, an organ of corti, and ampullaris maculae.
Inner ear, consisting of:
• Cochlea. This contains the nerves for hearing. • Vestibule. This contains receptors for balance. • Semicircular canals. This contains receptors for balance. How do you hear? Hearing starts with the outer ear. When a sound is made outside the outer ear, the sound waves, or vibrations, travel down the external auditory canal and strike the eardrum (tympanic membrane). The eardrum vibrates. The vibrations are then passed to 3 tiny bones in the middle ear called the ossicles. The ossicles amplify the sound. They send the sound waves to the inner ear and into the fluid-filled hearing organ (cochlea). Once the sound waves reach the inner ear, they are converted into electrical impulses. The auditory nerve sends these impulses to the brain. The brain then translates these electrical impulses as sound. Function of Ear
Following are the important function of the ear:
Hearing The mechanism of hearing involves the following steps: • The sound waves pass through the auditory canal and reach the eardrum. • The vibrations produced pass through the tympanic membrane to the tympanic cavity. • The ear ossicles in the tympanic cavity receive the vibrations and the stapes pushes the oval window in and out. • This action is passed on to the organ of corti, the receptor of hearing, that contains tiny hair cells that translate the vibrations into an electrical impulse that are transmitted to the brain by sensory nerves. Balance
The eustachian tube and the vestibular complex are the important parts of the ear responsible for the balance. • The eustachian tube equalizes the air pressure in the middle ear and maintains the balance.
• The vestibular complex contains receptors that maintain body balance.
Functions of Semicircular Canals The ear structure is in charge of the sense of balance and position of the head in space. The middle and outer ear structures are involved in hearing sensation. These structures are called semicircular ducts or semicircular canals. The fluid that fills the three semicircular canals—the lateral (horizontal), anterior, and posterior—remains in place while the head moves. As a result, each one delivers specific information about balance and body position, assisting in maintaining steady vision even in motion and synchronising total activity. Semicircular Canals Location
The interconnected semicircular canals are situated in distinct semicircular
ducts in the labyrinth bone of the inner ear. They are found in the petrous region of the temporal bone, a pair of bones near the skull base and its sides. They essentially hang over the cochlea and the vestibule, the organ attached to it resembling a snail shell. A group of nerves, the vestibular ganglion, is connected to the canals by nerves that eventually travel to nuclei (receptor areas) in the upper spinal column. Structure
Each semicircular canal begins and ends in the vestibule. Although slightly varied in length, each one creates a loop with a 1-millimetre diameter. Lateral or Horizontal Semicircular Canal: Because of its angle of around 30° to the horizontal plane, the lateral semicircular canal is called the "horizontal" canal. This is the shortest of all three canals. Anterior or Superior Semicircular Canal: The anterior semicircular canal is positioned vertically to separate the left and right sides of the body. It is perpendicular to the petrous portion of the temporal bone. Posterior or Inferior Semicircular Canal: This canal is positioned at the frontal plane, vertically dividing the body's front and back sides. INNER EAR
The semicircular ducts, or canals, play a crucial role in detecting the head's rotational position. Inertia causes the endolymph to move slower than the head, encouraging the cells of hair to produce signals essential for stabilising and regulating body posture. As a result of the complementary aspect of the canal activity, head movements boost signalling on one side while inhibiting communication from the opposite side. As a result, the eyes can perform a better oculomotor activity, i.e. smooth eye movement, maintaining stable vision even when the head is turned or twisted. This is the reason we feel the head moving or bending. The semicircular canals and the otolithic organs (saccule and utricle of the vestibule) are essential for proprioception (also known as kinaesthesia, the awareness of one's own body in space and when moving) and balance. Hence, the vestibular nuclei of the brain stem receive this information and transmit it to other brain regions involved in coordination and movement. Because of this crucial role, diseases of semicircular canals can have serious consequences. These include a prolonged feeling of dizziness, motion sickness, various forms of vertigo, and nystagmus (fast, abnormal eye movements). The caloric reflex test can assess the functionality of semicircular canals and the vestibular system overall.
