The importance of ears is something we are all aware of. This organ is the receiver of sound in the human body and plays a very important role in communication.
Structurally, the ear is made of three sections- the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear is the visible external part which consists of the pinna and the ear canal. It gathers sounds and sends them to the middle ear through the ear canal.
The middle ear is an air-filled cavity that turns sound waves into vibrations. It is separated from the external ear by the eardrum, a thin, cone-shaped piece of tissue. Past this drum, there are three small, but important bones in the middle ear. Collectively known as the ossicles, they are the malleus, incus and stapes.
The third and final part of the ear is the inner ear. It consists of a tiny organ called the cochlea that converts the vibrations from the middle ear to nerve impulses. These impulses then travel to the brain, from where it gets converted as sound.