Each of our five sense organs is more important and functional than the other. The absence or imperfection of anyone undoubtedly makes our lives very difficult. In fact, at this point, the shape and structure of our organs do not show a coincidental formation.
Now let’s look at what functions these folds of our ears provide when it comes to hearing.
Before we move on to answering this question, let’s talk about the parts of the ear and the role of each in processing sounds.
This structure; It consists of three parts: outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. Starting from the outer ear, the pinna is the visible part of the outer ear and is responsible for collecting sound waves. Again, the auricle directs sound waves to the ear canal (external auditory canal).
Vibrations from the eardrum in the middle ear activate the ossicles and these ossicles are known as the smallest bones in the human body. The three bones in this section are; Malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stirrup are named according to their shapes.
Also, the small stapes bone attaches to an oval window that connects the middle ear to the inner ear. The Eustachian tube, which opens into the middle ear, balances the pressure between the air inside the middle ear and the air outside the ear.
Finally, the sound waves enter the inner ear and then the cochlea, an organ resembling a snail. This snail is filled with a fluid that moves in response to vibrations from the oval window, and as the fluid operates, about 25,000 nerve endings are activated.
In addition, nerve endings convert vibrations from the ear into electrical impulses to the brain. The brain also interprets these signals and the hearing process takes place in this way.
The part that we will focus on is the outer ear.
The curved part of the ear is the outer ear, called the auricle or auricle. This structure is extremely flexible and consists of foldable skin and cartilage. The auricle also has different parts, such as tragus, spiral, lobule, and cone. Again, the outer ear continues from the auricle inward to the ear canal and the outer layer of the eardrum.
When it comes to perceiving sound waves, the auricle; It has the function of collecting, amplifying and directing sound waves to the ear canal. In addition, although it is a different part of the outer ear, the external auditory canal, called the ear canal, also amplifies the sound waves to a certain extent.
This wrinkled and curved structure of the auricle is not random.
The wrinkled and curved nature of the ear actually raises the pitch of the most common sounds we can hear. In other words, while this structure reduces all the other unnecessary sounds reaching our ears, it also enables us to hear the ones we need to hear in a healthy way.
In addition, the way the sound waves interact with the auricle transmits the necessary clues about the distance, direction and height of the incoming sound source to our brain.
So what would happen if our ears were much bigger? Could we hear the voices better?
For example, elephants’ ears are many times larger than ours, but this size has little to do with hearing. These animals fan their ears to cool off, and the large surface area of their ears allows them to avoid heat.
In other words, it would be a very wrong idea that big ears provide a plus in hearing. In summary, our ears, which have a very complex structure, allow us to perceive the sound in the clearest way with this wrinkled and curved structure.
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