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The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates , the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. [ 1 ] In mammals , it consists of the bony labyrinth , a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts: [ 2 ]
The tympanic reflex helps prevent damage to the inner ear by muffling the transmission of low frequency vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window. The reflex has a response time of 40 milliseconds, not fast enough to protect the ear from sudden loud noises such as an explosion or gunshot.
The middle-ear ossicles further amplify the vibration pressure roughly 20 times. The base of the stapes couples vibrations into the cochlea via the oval window, which vibrates the perilymph liquid (present throughout the inner ear) and causes the round window to bulb out as the oval window bulges in. [1]
The inner ear structurally begins at the oval window, which receives vibrations from the incus of the middle ear. Vibrations are transmitted into the inner ear into a fluid called endolymph, which fills the membranous labyrinth. The endolymph is situated in two vestibules, the utricle and saccule, and eventually transmits to the cochlea, a ...
The middle ear uses three tiny bones, the malleus, the incus, and the stapes, to convey vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. The middle ear consists of a small air-filled chamber that is located medial to the eardrum.
Bone conduction devices are suitable for patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss, with a functioning cochlea but problems with the outer or inner ear that prevent sound vibrations from reaching the cochlea. [15] This can be caused by conditions such as atresia, microtia, Goldenhar syndrome or Treacher Collins. [16]
Since approximately 450 years ago, two pathways have been acknowledged for transmitting sound to the inner ear: air conduction and bone conduction. In 2004, Hiroshi Hosoi, then a professor at Nara Medical University (and currently its president), discovered the phenomenon of hearing by cartilage vibration of the outer ear.
The organ of Corti is located in the scala media of the cochlea of the inner ear between the vestibular duct and the tympanic duct and is composed of mechanosensory cells, known as hair cells. [2] Strategically positioned on the basilar membrane of the organ of Corti are three rows of outer hair cells (OHCs) and one row of inner hair cells ...