Hearing Sound Waves

The ears of people and other animals have three parts. These parts are the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear is the part we can see. Its job is to collect sounds from outside and pass them through the ear canal to the middle ear. The middle ear includes three small bones called the hammer , the anvil , and the stirrup . These bones vibrate when sound waves reach them. The vibrations are then passed to the inner ear. The inner ear is a combination of tiny hairs and liquid called the cochlea . The cochlea translates the vibrations into sounds that our brains can understand.

This picture shows the parts of the human ear. Can you find the hammer, anvil, and stirrup?View Larger Image

Adapted from NASA and Science@NASA