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Anatomy of the Ear

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Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

The Measurement of Unsteady Surface Pressure Using a Remote Microphone Probe

The Measurement of Unsteady Surface Pressure Using a Remote Microphone Probe

Published on: December 3, 2016

Pressure difference receiving ears.

Axel Michelsen¹, Ole Naesbye Larsen

¹Centre for Sound Communication, Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark. A.Michelsen@biology.sdu.dk

Bioinspiration & Biomimetics

|March 28, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Directional sound receivers improve sound localization and noise reduction by utilizing pressure difference hearing. Proper amplitude and phase relationships are crucial for effective directional hearing, inspiring technical advancements.

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Area of Science:

Acoustics
Bioacoustics
Auditory Neuroscience

Background:

Directional sound receivers aid in sound source localization and mitigating noise.
Ears can achieve directionality through sound reaching both eardrum surfaces.
Understanding pressure-difference receivers is limited by experimental method constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

To review methods for collecting binaural directional cue data at the eardrums.
To analyze eardrum vibration dependency on sound incidence direction.
To investigate sound wave behavior in air spaces leading to inner eardrum surfaces.

Main Methods:

Review of experimental methods for auditory cue data collection.
Utilizing a linear mathematical model to explore directionality variations.
Analysis of amplitude and phase gain in the sound pathway to the inner eardrum.

Main Results:

Directionality depends on binaural cues and the inner ear sound pathway's gain.
Effective directional hearing requires specific amplitude and phase relationships between eardrum surfaces.
Sound transmission to the inner eardrum surface alone is insufficient for directional hearing.

Conclusions:

The gain of the sound pathway must align with outer eardrum sound characteristics (diffraction, arrival time).
Animal size and sound frequency influence directional hearing capabilities.
Nature's directional hearing mechanisms offer potential for hearing aid improvements.