SO: v6 (First Timers)

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   If you were to shrink and go into an ear and go down the ear canal, the first thing you would run into is the eardrum. The eardrum is made of cartilage.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY: The ear canal leading to the eardrum has thick ear wax all over it.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   Beyond the eardrum wall of skin, there are 3 bones: the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The three bones are connected to each other.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   The three bones are in an airy cavern. The cavern is directly behind your nose.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   The third bone of the ear is the saddle. It touches the oval window of the cochlea.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   The cochlea is SNAIL-SHAPED. It is fluid-filled. It is about the size of Roosevelt’s head on a dime.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   Bundles of hairs are in the chamber of the middle part of the cochlea.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   The vibration of the middle of the snail-shaped cochlea is very important because it moves tiny hairs and these make it so we can hear.

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   There are hair bundles in the ears that sway in the fluid of the eardrum. (Be careful!)

AN EAR-EE JOURNEY:   The are little lids on the “hairs” in the cochlea that are like little teapot lids. These lids move up and down when the hairs sway. Things (charged atoms) can rush into the hairs when the lids are opened.