How does the ear hear?

Your ear turns a wobble of air smaller than an atom into music, speech and warning. The outer ear (pinna and a 2.5 cm canal) funnels sound to the eardrum. Three tiny bones in the air-filled middle ear, the malleus, incus and stapes, carry it to the oval window of the fluid-filled cochlea.

Read how it works: How does the ear hear? · The history of understanding the ear · More boxes on Glassbox

Chapters in this interactive model

1. Inside the human ear: Outer, middle and inner ear: a funnel, a lever and a fluid-filled snail.
2. The middle ear: a tiny amplifier: How three little bones get sound from thin air into thick fluid.
3. The cochlea: a keyboard of pitch: Unroll the snail and each pitch finds its own place.
4. Hair cells: where sound becomes a signal: Tiny bristles bend, gates open, and a nerve starts firing.
5. Loudness, decibels and safe listening: Why 10 dB more is a lot, and how much loud sound is too much.
6. Balance: the ear’s other job: Three fluid rings feel you turn; two crystal pads feel you tilt.