INTRODUCTION

TO A N ATO M Y
AND
PHYSIOLOGY
OF HEARING

S A FA A L Q U DA H , P H D I N
A U DI O LO GY
WHERE IS THE EAR Parietal lobe

Frontal lobe

Temporal lobe

Occipital
lobe
 The human skull has four different
lobes.

WHERE IS The ear is located in the temporal

lobe.
THE EAR

The function of the ear is to

maintain the sense of balance and
to hear the sounds
THE AUDITORY
SYSTEM

The auditory system comprises The auditory system may be

the ears and their connections divided into
to and within the central
nervous system.
Peripheral system
central system
PERIPHERAL SYSTEM OF HEARING
• The peripheral system of hearing
composed of :
• 1- Outer ear
• 2- Middle ear
• 3- Inner ear
• 4- Auditory vestibular nerve
 Pinna
External Auditory
OUTER EAR meatus
• It is the external portion of the ear
• It consists of two parts :
• Pinna (Auricle)
• Ear canal (external auditory canal)
• Function : acoustic and non – acoustic
• Acoustic function :
• Ensuring efficient sound transmission from the environment to the tympanic membrane.
• localization
• Non- acoustic function :
• Protect the tympanic membrane
• Maintain clean passage for sound
T Y M PA N I C
MEMBRANE
(EAR DRUM)
• It is a thin, cone- shaped membrane that separates
the external ear from the middle ear.

• Function : it transmits sound from the air to the

ossicles inside the middle ear and
converts acoustical energy to mechanical one

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MIDDLE EAR
• Function : is transforming the sound waves into mechanical vibrations which will stimulate the inner ear
and air ventilation.
• The middle ear also includes
• Tympanic (middle ear) cavity
• Ossicular chain with its associated muscles, tendons, and ligaments
▪ Malleus
▪ Incus
▪ Stapes Middle ear
cavity
▪ Acoustical function( transmitted the sound waves to inner ear)
• Eustachian (auditory) tube.
• Non acoustical ( equalize the pressure of the middle ear)
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INNER EAR
• Inner ear includes:
• Sensory organ of hearing (the cochlea)
• Sensory organs of balance
• Semicircular canals
• Utricle
• Saccule
• Function:
• Is to transform mechanical sound waves
into electrical or neural signals for use in
the brain
• To maintain the balance
• https://youtu.be/vfFNo1asOvc
THE
VESTIBULOCOCHLEAR
NERVE(VIII)

• The vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth paired

cranial nerve.

• It is comprised of two parts

• vestibular fibers
• cochlear fibers

• Function: It transmits sound and equilibrium

(balance) information from the inner ear to the
brain.
PERIPHERAL
• The peripheral system of hearing composed of :

• 1- Outer ear

SYSTEM OF • 2- Middle ear

HEARING
• 3- Inner ear

• 4- Auditory vestibular nerve

 Inner ear encompasses the separate
structures for hearing and balance.
CENTRAL
AUDITORY
PAT H WAY

When the cranial nerve VIII reaches the

brainstem, The vestibular branch will
send the balance information to specific
brain structures while the hearing system
will send its information to different parts
of the brain specifically to extract the
sound cues out of the electrical message
brought by the nerves of hearing.
 Eventually, the auditory pathway
exits the brainstem and enters the
CENTRAL temporal lobe of the brain. The
AUDITORY precise location in the temporal
lobe where the final process of
PAT H WAY hearing takes place is the auditory
cortex (or Herschel's gyrus).
Sound entering the left ear is
ultimately processed in the auditory
cortex of the right hemisphere and
vice versa
 HOW DO WE HEAR?

Once sound is generated, it The outer ear serves to collect

travels through the air in a and channel the sound wave
disturbance called a sound toward the tympanic
wave. membrane.

The mechanical vibrations enter

The sound is transformed into
the fluid filled inner ear
mechanical energy by the
(cochlea) and then transformed
tympanic membrane and the
into a hydraulic wave, called a
ossicular chain of middle ear.
traveling wave.
 This wave enters the cochlea and
displaces (stimulates) hair cells within
the cochlea.

The stimulation of specific hair cells is

converted to nerve impulses that are an
HOW DO WE exact match to the frequencies
HEAR ?? composing the original airborne sound.
The transduction of hydromechanical
energy to nerve impulses continues all
the way to brain
 HOW DO
WE HEAR?