How Hearing Works
The sense of hearing is an incredible process. Discover how our ears and our brain work together, so that we can hear the world around us.
The Steps of Hearing
Outer Ear
Sound waves, which are vibrations, enter through the outer ear and reach the middle ear to vibrate the eardrum.
Middle Ear
The eardrum then vibrates the ossicles, which are small bones in the middle ear. The sound vibrations travel through the ossicles to the inner ear.
Inner Ear
When the sound vibrations reach the cochlea, they push against specialized cells known as hair cells. The hair cells turn the vibrations into electrical nerve impulses.
Auditory Nerve
The auditory nerve connects the cochlea to the auditory centers of the brain. When these electrical nerve impulses reach the brain, they are experienced as sound.
The Journey of Sound
We hear when sound waves travel through the air to our eardrum, across our middle ear, into our inner ear, and finally to the auditory centers of our brain. Our ears are always on and are continuously carrying sounds along this hearing pathway.
Watch this easy-to-follow video to see the pathway of hearing in action.
