Dunshaw Hearing Aid Centers

Sound waves are vibrations in the air–these vibrations pass through various bones in the ear to help humans hear. In the middle ear, humans have the three smallest bones in the human body (all three combined can fit comfortably onto a dime) known as the ossicle bones. These little bones are very important in transmitting and monitoring the control of sounds we receive in our ears. They can amplify the sounds which we hear by three times the normal level, but they also can weaken the force of the vibration by contracting the muscles. So what are the three bones? What do they do? Let’s take a look out how these bones help with hearing:

1. The Hammer aka the Malleus- this is where the vibrations are first passed through the middle ear. It articulates with the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the incus–the next of the ossicles (remember, they are all connected together). This is their first step of the hearing process.

2. The Anvil aka the Incus- the vibrations caused by the hammer cause the anvil to be pushed against and in turn it pushes the next of the ossicles. This is the second part of the hearing process for the ossicles.

3. The Stirrup aka the Stapes- This is the last of the hearing process. The final of the three bones to receive the push of the vibrations. The stirrup is connected directly to the oval window–the gateway to the nerves for hearing. It is where the transmission of the vibration is sent to the cochlea and then to the nerves where it will be interpreted not just as vibrations but as sounds.

Basically put, these three tiny bones are the monitors to how we hear. If they become damaged, they can be fixed through a stapedectomy (we will discuss this soon). If it were not for how these bones are formed–the possibility the ability to hear would not exist and the evolution of the hearing process would have been very different. The ossicles may be tiny, but are important nonetheless–any small problem can cause severe hearing loss. If your hearing loss specialist sees that there is a problem with the auditory ossicles, then they will recommend an ENT to help combat the hearing loss with the stapedectomy.

Tags: Causes of Hearing Loss, ears, hearing loss, ossicles, stapes, unilateral hearing loss

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am and is filed under Causes of Hearing Loss, Uncategorized, hearing loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.