Martin Audiology

Hearing starts when the outer ear, the visible portion of the ear that is on the outside of the head, channels sound waves down the auditory canal. This tube like passageway is lined with tiny hairs and tiny glands that produce ear wax. The middle ear lies at the end of the auditory canal. It is composed of the ear drum and three tiny bones known by the layman as the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup. When sound waves hit the ear drum, it vibrates and, in turn, moves the hammer. The hammer moves the anvil, which moves the stirrup which moves the vibrations into the inner ear.