What Ear Bone in Your Inner Ear Carries the Sound?

Because we only see the outermost part of the ear, the workings of the middle and inner ear and how they carry sound can be a mystery. In the inner ear, the main auditory structure is the cochlea.

Function of the Inner Ear

• The inner ear contains the sensory organs for hearing and balance. The inner ear is where sound is transmitted to the brain in the form of a nerve impulse.

Structure of the Inner Ear

• The cochlea is the structure that deals with hearing. Though not exactly a bone, the cochlea is bony. It is curled like a snail shell and filled with fluids called endolymph and perilymph.

  The cochlea also contains the Organ of Corti, the place that holds hair cells. The hair cells are the nerve receptors for hearing.

Physiology of the Inner Ear

• When sound reaches the perilymph fluid at the front of the cochlea, it carries sound waves down the length of the cochlea and into the tympanic duct. The vibrations spread across the cochlea, and the sound waves push down on the membrane within the cochlea, which stimulates the hair cells in the Organ of Corti. The hair cells translate the vibrations into nerve signals that are sent to the brain.