“No Filipino shall be deprived

of a functional sense of
hearing and balance”

- Philippine National Ear Institute

Anatomy and Physiology of the
Human Ear

FLORENCE YUL N. SAQUIAN, MD, DPBO-HNS

West Visayas State University Hospital
St. Paul’s Hospital
Western Visayas Medical Center
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture, the student should be
able to:
• know the anatomy of the human ear
• understand the role of the ear in sound
conduction, propagation, and
transformation, as well as in balance
and equilibrium
 OUTLINE
• Generation and Propagation of Sound
Waves
• Sound Capture in the External Ear
• Sound Transformation in the Middle Ear
• Sound Transduction in the Inner Ear
• Central Auditory Pathway
• Balance and Equilibrium
 SOUND
• Sound : change in pressure within an elastic
medium
• Intensity: strength of sound (dB)
• Loudness: psychoacoustic equivalent of
intensity
• Frequency : number of cycles of a vibrating
body per unit time (Hz)
• Pitch: psychoacoustic equivalent of intensity
• Remember: Intensity is to loudness.
Frequency is to pitch.
• Human sensitivity to sound
– frequency range: 20-24,000 Hz
– range of audible intensities: 12 orders of
magnitude
– ``threshold of pain'‘: 120 dB-130 dB
Sound dB-SPL
Threshold of hearing (N ears) 0
Human breathing (at 3m) 10
Rustling of leaves 20
Empty movie house 30
Residential area at night 40
Quiet restaurant 50
Busy traffic 70
Vacuum cleaner 80
Noisy factory 90
Pneumatic hammer at 2m 100
Accelerating motorcycle at 5m 110
Rock concert 120
Threshold of pain 130
Jet engine at 3m 140
SOUND WAVE GENERATION
 SOUND WAVES
• alternating linear compression and
rarefaction areas
• can be captured on oscilloscopes  pure
tones rendered as sine waves
• Crests: areas of greatest air molecules
compression
• Troughs: areas of rarefaction
Longitudinal Wave
– waves “pile up” in
the same direction as
they are moving

Transverse Wave
- waves “pile up” in a
different direction as they
are moving
 Short wavelengths means lots of waves
High frequency, High sound
The longer the
wavelength, the lower
the frequency, the
lower the sound

Long wavelengths mean fewer waves

Low frequency, Low sound

The bigger the

difference in highs
and lows of the
sound, the louder the
sound.
OUTER EAR
AURICLE
Vascular Supply
 Innervation

NERVE DERIVATION
Greater Auricular Cervical plexus C2,3

Lesser Occipital Cervical plexus C2

Auricular Vagus X

Auriculotemporal Vc mandibular

Facial VII
Innervation
Lymphatic Drainage
Associated Muscles
EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL
 EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL

• Length: app. 2.5 cm

• Anterior canal wall longer by 1-1.5 cm
• lateral 1/3 : CARTILAGINOUS
• medial 2/3: BONY
 HISTOLOGY
(1) Stratified squamous
epithelium
(2) hair follicle
(3) sebaceous glands
(4) ceruminous glands
(5) connective tissue
(6) perichondrium
(7) elastic cartilage
 EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL

• Blood Supply
– From the external carotid artery
• Auricular branches of superficial temporal a.
• Deep auricular a. from maxillary a.
• Auricular branches of posterior auricular a.

• Lymphatics
– Follows that of the auricle
 Role of the External Ear
in Hearing
• PASSIVE role
• Pinna: sound collection
• Concha and EAC : acoustic resonators 
affect the sound pressure at the tympanic
membrane
• simple tube resonator open at one end
– length determines the resonant characteristics
– resonant peak frequency 2.5 kHz in human ears
MIDDLE EAR
TYMPANIC CAVITY
 BOUNDARIES
• Roof : tegmen tympani
• Floor: jugular wall and styloid foramen
• Posterior: mastoid
• Anterior: carotid wall, eustachian tube
• Medial: labyrinthine wall
• Lateral: tympanic membrane
TYMPANIC CAVITY
TYMPANIC CAVITY
HISTOLOGY

Epithelial lining (low

columnar /cuboidal)

Middle ear cavity

cochlea
• Respiratory mucosa
lines the entire
eustachian tube
• cartilaginous part:
pseudostratified
columnar ciliated
epithelium
• tympanic orifice it is
lined by ciliated
cuboidal epithelium
 MIDDLE EAR CAVITY
• transforms acoustic energy from air to fluid
medium
• COUPLING: accomplished through
vibration of 3 middle ear ossicles
• IMPEDANCE MATCHER: ensures energy
is not lost
1. Area effect of the
tympanic
membrane

2. Lever action of
the ossicular
chain

3. The phase
difference between
oval and round
window
• The natural resonance and efficiency
of the outer and middle ears
• Curved membrane effect
INNER EAR
 INNER EAR
• Convoluted shape: “labyrinth”
• Bony: perilymph (high Na, low K)
• Membranous: endolymph (low Na, high K)
• Both labyrinths have
– Vestibular portion - balance
– Cochlear portion - hearing
 COCHLEA
• Coiled for 2 ½ turns
• Axis of the spiral: MODIOLUS – contains
the nerve bundles and arterial supply
• Bony cavity is divided into 3 portions:
– Scala vestibuli
– Scala media / cochlear duct
– Scala tympani
• Perilymph communicate at the apex
 COCHLEA
• Organ of Corti – contains the essential
organelles of the peripheral neural
mechanism for hearing
– Sits on the basilar membrane
– With inner hair and outer hair cells with cilia
– Cilia attach to gelatinous tectorial membrane
 Role of the Inner Ear in
Hearing
• amplified sound reach the foot plate of the
stapes against the oval window
• oval window displacement  pressure
waves pass through the fluid medium of
the scala vestibuli  pass around the
helicotrema  scala tympani  impinge
upon the round window which is in turn
displaced into the tympanic cavity
• movements of perilymph  displacement
of basilar membrane and hair cells
bending of microvilli
• stimulates the sensory cells  release of
neurotransmitter  excitation of sensory
endings of the cochlear nerve
AUDITORY PATHWAY
SUMMARY
Here's How It Works
• Sound vibrations, or sound waves,
are collected by the outer ear
(those are the things hanging on
the sides of your head!) and travel
into the ear canal, where they
bump up against the eardrum. The
ear drum vibrates in sympathy
with these sound waves. As it
vibrates, it moves a series of tiny
bones in the middle ear, which
carry the vibrations to a fluid-filled
tube called the cochlea in the
inner ear. The fluid inside the
cochlea vibrates a series of tiny
hairs called cilia, which are
attached to auditory nerves. The
movement of these cilia stimulates
the nerves, and they send signals
to the brain, which, in turn,
processes these signals into the
sounds we hear.
So, we really don't hear with
our ears - we hear with our
brains!
Madamu Guid Nga Salamat Sa
Pagpamati!