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The outer ear funnels sound vibrations to the eardrum, increasing the sound pressure in the middle frequency range. The middle-ear ossicles further amplify the vibration pressure roughly 20 times. The base of the stapes couples vibrations into the cochlea via the oval window , which vibrates the perilymph liquid (present throughout the inner ...
The middle ear matches mechanical impedance, like a lever. Ordinarily, when sound waves in air strike liquid, most of the energy is reflected off the surface of the liquid. The middle ear allows the impedance matching of sound traveling in air to acoustic waves traveling in a system of fluids and membranes in the inner ear. This system should ...
The columella resides in the air-filled tympanic cavity of the middle ear. The footplate, or proximal end of the columella, rests in the oval window. Sound is conducted through the oval window to the interior of the otic capsule. [2] This motion ultimately stimulates sensory cells in the inner ear. [3]
The floor of the cavity (also called the jugular wall) is narrow, and consists of a thin plate of bone (fundus tympani) which separates the tympanic cavity from the jugular fossa. It presents, near the labyrinthic wall, a small aperture for the passage of the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve.
The middle ear plays a crucial role in the auditory process, as it essentially converts pressure variations in air to perturbations in the fluids of the inner ear. In other words, it is the mechanical transfer function that allows for efficient transfer of collected sound energy between two different media. [ 2 ]
Also located in the middle ear are the stapedius muscle and tensor tympani muscle, which protect the hearing mechanism through a stiffening reflex. The stapes transmits sound waves to the inner ear through the oval window , a flexible membrane separating the air-filled middle ear from the fluid-filled inner ear.
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Crossing the middle ear chamber there is an ossicle called the columella that is connected to the tympanum, and another ossicle, the operculum, that connects this to the oval membrane. This separates the middle ear from the inner ear ; and its movements are reflected in vibrations in the fluid in the inner ear; these vibrations cause ...