{"id":4295,"date":"2018-12-07T10:01:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T18:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houseprovidence.org\/?p=4295"},"modified":"2018-12-07T10:01:16","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T18:01:16","slug":"how-do-your-ears-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/how-do-your-ears-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Your Ears Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re like most people in Los Angeles, you probably don\u2019t give your <strong>ears<\/strong> much thought unless you\u2019re stabbing a hole through the lobe or covering them up when it\u2019s cold.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The ears are surprisingly complex organs that collect and process sounds in the environment and send them to the brain for interpretation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Think of the ears and brain as a classic duo along the lines of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!<\/p>\n<h1>Structures of the Ear<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"kids-ear\" src=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/kids-ear.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5080 alignright\" srcset=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/kids-ear.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/kids-ear-256x170.jpeg 256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The external portion of the ear is rather unassuming (though a little more prominent in some folks than others).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a handy place to display jewelry or hold a pair of glasses.<\/p>\n<p>But the real excitement takes place below the surface.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanfordchildrens.org\/en\/topic\/default?id=anatomy-and-physiology-of-the-ear-90-P02025\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"ear | stanfordchildrens.org\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ear<\/a> is made up of three sections: <em>the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>All three play a unique and important role in the <strong>hearing process<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The outer ear, also known as the auricle or pinna, is the external portion that is visible to others. It is responsible for collecting sound waves and funneling them into the ear canal. Once inside, they are amplified before reaching the eardrum, which vibrates when struck.<\/li>\n<li>The middle ear is made up of the auditory canal and eardrum. Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, stimulating the ossicles \u2013 three small bones consisting of the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). The stapes is attached to the oval window, a membrane-covered opening that connects the middle and inner ears.<\/li>\n<li>The inner ear contains the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cochlea.org\/en\/hearing\/ear\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"cochlea | cochlea.org\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cochlea<\/a>, a structure resembling a snail shell that is divided into three fluid-filled parts. Vibrations from the eardrum stimulate movement of tiny hair cells known as stereocilia, which converts these vibrations into electrical impulses that travel through the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are translated into recognizable sound.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s how we hear! It\u2019s a pretty remarkable process, huh?<\/p>\n<p>Now that you know <strong>how hearing works<\/strong>, let\u2019s explore why it sometimes doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<h1>Understanding Hearing Loss<\/h1>\n<p>Damage to any of the sections of the ear can result in <a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\" title=\"hearing loss | House Providence Health Care Centers\">hearing loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When the outer ear or middle ear are affected, <em>conductive hearing loss<\/em> may result.<\/p>\n<p>This is often caused by trauma, disease or certain medications. Conductive hearing loss is often temporary and\/or correctable with surgery or drugs.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sensorineural hearing loss<\/em>, or nerve deafness, occurs when there is damage to the inner ear.<\/p>\n<p>This <strong>type of hearing loss<\/strong> is permanent but usually treatable with hearing aids.<\/p>\n<p>Nine out of 10 patients with hearing loss in Los Angeles are diagnosed with this type.<\/p>\n<p>Some people experience damage to both the inner and middle or outer ears. This is known as <em>mixed hearing loss<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>If you or a loved one is experiencing hearing impairment in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Los_Angeles\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Los Angeles, CA | Wikipedia\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles<\/a>, schedule an appointment with an <strong>audiologist<\/strong>\u00a0for a <a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\" title=\"hearing screening. | House Providence Health Care Centers\">hearing screening.<\/a> There are solutions available to improve your quality of life.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Related Hearing Aids Posts:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/do-you-need-hearing-aids\/\" title=\"Do You Need Hearing Aids?\"><strong>Do You Need Hearing Aids?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/how-can-hearing-aids-help-tinnitus\/\" title=\"How Can Hearing Aids Help Tinnitus?\"><strong>How Can Hearing Aids Help Tinnitus?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\/how-do-you-clean-your-hearing-aid\/\" title=\"How Do You Clean Your Hearing Aid?\"><strong>How Do You Clean Your Hearing Aid?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>House Providence Hearing Health Center<\/strong><br \/>\n2100 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057<br \/>\n(213) 483-9930<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/househearing.com\" title=\"Los Angeles: The House Institute Hearing Health Centers\">https:\/\/househearing.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"indiv-loc-btn indiv-loc-module orange-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/search\/?api=1&#038;query=The+House+Institute&#038;query_place_id=ChIJ4wvL-wrHwoARjtPvwUGYkCc\" class=\"address \" target=\"_blank\">1245 Wilshire Blvd. #603<br \/>Los Angeles, CA 90017<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re like most people in Los Angeles, you probably don\u2019t give your ears much thought unless you\u2019re stabbing a hole through the lobe or covering them up when it\u2019s cold. The ears are surprisingly complex organs that collect and process sounds in the environment and send them to the brain for interpretation. Think of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5080,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"(213) 353-7052 | Los Angeles | The ears are complex organs that collect and process sounds in the environment and send them to the brain for interpretation.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}