How Individuals Hear; the Inner Workings of the Ear

People often wonder how a person hears and what could go wrong to cause them not to hear. There are three parts to hearing; the outer, middle and inner ear. The outer ear collects sounds from the environment and sends them down to the middle ear. 

The middle ear uses vibrations, off the eardrum, and three small bones – malleus, incus and staples – to process sound onto the inner ear.

The inner ear, which has two main parts, the cochlea and the vestibular system; tiny hair cells send impulses to the auditory nerve, then it travels to the brain for final processing. Many hearing-impaired individuals suffer from nerve damage which can only be helped so much by hearing aids.