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Human and Biomimetic Sensors
Published in Patrick F. Dunn, Fundamentals of Sensors for Engineering and Science, 2019
Both the sensors for hearing and for equilibrium are located within the ear, as depicted in Figure 3.6. The external section of the ear (the outer ear, or pinna, and the ear canal) functionally directs sound waves to the eardrum (the tympanic membrane). This membrane covers the entrance to the middle ear. The middle ear houses three bones (the malleus, which is connected to the eardrum, the incus, and the stapes, which is connected to the oval window of the inner ear). This system of bones transduces sound waves into minute mechanical vibrations. The middle ear is filled with air that is provided by the collapsible eustachian tube, which is connected to the pharynx. The mechanical vibrations of the oval window’s membrane set up pressure waves within the fluid contained in the cochlear duct of the inner ear. These waves eventually stimulate hearing sensory hair cells. Also within the inner ear is the fluid-filled vestibular apparatus. This contains the semicircular canals responsible for equilibrium.
Acoustic Criteria
Published in Randall F. Barron, Industrial Noise Control and Acoustics, 2002
The human ear is one of the more intricate and complex mechanical structures in the body. As shown in Fig. 6-1, the ear consists of three main parts: The outer ear, consisting of the pinna or visible ear, which acts as a horn to collect sound, and the meatus or auditory canal, which is terminated by the tympanic membrane or eardrum.The middle ear, which involves three small bones: the malleus or “hammer”, the incus or “anvil,” and the stapes or “stirrup”. These bones of the middle ear serve to transform the pressure variations in the air in the outer ear into mechanical motion. The eustachian tube in the middle ear serves to equalize the pressure between the outer and inner ear volumes.The inner ear, which contains the semicircular canals, the fluid gyroscope associated with maintaining balance of the body, and the cochlea, which analyzes, converts, and transmits information about sound from the outer ear to the brain through the auditory nerves.
Fundamentals of human response to sound
Published in Frank Fahy, John Walker, Fundamentals of Noise and Vibration, 2003
There is an air-filled middle-ear cavity behind the ear drum. The primary purpose of the middle-ear cavity is to provide a movement space behind the eardrum. Vibrational motion of the ear drum is transmitted across the middle-ear cavity by a chain of three small bones (the ossicles) into the fluid filled inner-ear chambers known as the cochlea. The primary function of the ossicles is simply to transmit the vibrational motion across the middle-ear cavity, but they also provide additional leverage to convert the motion from the relatively low mechanical impedance of the ear drum to the relatively high mechanical impedance of the fluid filled inner-ear cavities.
Semi-automatic 3D reconstruction of middle and inner ear structures using CBCT
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization, 2023
Florian Beguet, Thierry Cresson, Mathieu Schmittbuhl, Cédric Doucet, David Camirand, Philippe Harris, Jean-Luc Mari, Jacques de Guise
The middle ear is a space filled with air located in the temporal bone between the outer ear and the inner ear. It contains a chain consisting of three movable ossicles: the malleus, the incus (Figure 1b) and the stapes (Figure 1c). The vibrations of the air captured by the eardrum are amplified along the ossicular chain and then transmitted to the inner ear via the oval window. The ossicles are eminently complex structures especially the stapes where a list of 14 probative measures has been determined (Farahani and Nooranipour 2008). In addition, each of these structures can be the cause of many hearing problems (Nager 1993).