Ear-y Noise The cochlea, pictured super-magnified, is a spiralling tunnel that leads deep inside our ear. It acts as a funnel, feeding sound from the outside world through a ‘lawn’ of sensory hair cells which line the organ of corti, highlighted here in red. As noise floods in, the sensory hairs wave around, opening up electrical channels that take speedy messages to the brain. Our auditory hair cells are intricate and fragile, making them prone to damage by diseases and infections. The World Health Organization (WHO), promoting today as International Day for Ear and Hearing, supports immunization schemes worldwide in efforts to prevent hearing loss. They also advise on safety for people with noisy jobs – after all, constant exposure to loud noises can rip out our sensitive ear hair cells. Such damage is irreparable; we are born with just 30,000 of these precious hairs and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. Written by John Ankers — Bechara Kachar NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, USA
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Ear-y Noise

The cochlea, pictured super-magnified, is a spiralling tunnel that leads deep inside our ear. It acts as a funnel, feeding sound from the outside world through a ‘lawn’ of sensory hair cells which line the organ of corti, highlighted here in red. As noise floods in, the sensory hairs wave around, opening up electrical channels that take speedy messages to the brain. Our auditory hair cells are intricate and fragile, making them prone to damage by diseases and infections. The World Health Organization (WHO), promoting today as International Day for Ear and Hearing, supports immunization schemes worldwide in efforts to prevent hearing loss. They also advise on safety for people with noisy jobs – after all, constant exposure to loud noises can rip out our sensitive ear hair cells. Such damage is irreparable; we are born with just 30,000 of these precious hairs and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.

Written by John Ankers

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Source: bpod.mrc.ac.uk

Drumming Sound Have you ever experienced that uncomfortable feeling in your ears as an aeroplane takes off? The pressure change as we climb higher into the sky causes unpleasant sensations because our ears have not had time to adjust. Other than deep sea diving, flying is one of the few occasions when we’re aware of our eardrums. Known as the tympanic membrane by scientists, the eardrum separates the middle and inner ear from the environment and converts sound into vibrations that are further processed for our brain to register. Explosions and physical trauma to the ear can cause rupture of the membrane that may lead to infections and hearing difficulty. Some World War II pilots intentionally ruptured their eardrums to stop air pressure problems when flying and the Bajau tribe of the South Pacific do the same to facilitate deep sea diving, albeit often with severe consequences for their hearing. Written by Georgina Askeland — Image originally published under Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND); Courtesy of Wellcome Images
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Drumming Sound

Have you ever experienced that uncomfortable feeling in your ears as an aeroplane takes off? The pressure change as we climb higher into the sky causes unpleasant sensations because our ears have not had time to adjust. Other than deep sea diving, flying is one of the few occasions when we’re aware of our eardrums. Known as the tympanic membrane by scientists, the eardrum separates the middle and inner ear from the environment and converts sound into vibrations that are further processed for our brain to register. Explosions and physical trauma to the ear can cause rupture of the membrane that may lead to infections and hearing difficulty. Some World War II pilots intentionally ruptured their eardrums to stop air pressure problems when flying and the Bajau tribe of the South Pacific do the same to facilitate deep sea diving, albeit often with severe consequences for their hearing.

Written by Georgina Askeland

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  • Image originally published under Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND); Courtesy of Wellcome Images

Source: bpod.mrc.ac.uk