To understand tinnitus better, what causes it, and what can be done to stop ringing ears, it helps to know something about our hearing and how it works. This article is the first of a three article series that deals with tinnitus and the three major parts of the human ear, the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. This first part focuses on the outer ear, how it works, what can go wrong to engender tinnitus, and what can be done to resolve it. With no further ado, let's get a look at the outer ear.
When someone mentions ears, we usually think of the outer ear, the external part that we can see, which is called the pinna or auricle. Outer ears come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all share certain common features: curves and folds made up of cartilage that gather and funnel sounds from the atmosphere around us into the ear canal. Before we go on, let's take just a moment to see how sound works.
Sound travels at about 740 miles per hour as air molecule vibrate in the form of pressure waves. Sound waves resemble the waves that spread on a pond's surface after tossing a rock into the water. We hear the sound as the waves are gathered by the pinna, or outer ear, which funnels the sound through the auditory canal, and then the wave applies pressure against the ear drum. From the ear drum, the energy is passed to the middle ear and inner ear, and then to the brain where it is processed as the sound we hear. With that big picture in mind, let's go back to pick up more details.
After the sound energy is gathered by the pinna, it is funneled through the auditory or ear canal. Only about 1 inch long and about 1/4 inch in diameter, the ear canal functions to funnel the sound collected by the pinna to the eardrum or tympanic membrane. There the pressure of the sound wave will press upon the eardrum according to the intensity of the vibration. The shape of the ear canal is wondrously suited for channeling and focusing sound energy. Shaped well for sound transmission, the auditory canal also slopes to keep water from settling against the tympanic membrane under usual circumstances. The form and dimensions of the auditory canal are just right for transmitting sound and for keeping outer ear infections to a minimum.
The inner boundary of the outer ear is the external side of the tympanic membrane. The ear drum, a membrane of specialized skin, is situated right between the outer and middle ear. Resembling a flat cone, the tympanic membrane transfers the vibrations of the sound wave to the mechanism within the middle ear. The ear drum is amazingly sensitive. When struck by the softest sound that can be heard by a healthy young adult, the tympanic membrane moves only 1 millionth of an inch or so. If you can imagine 1 millionth of an inch, you can begin to imagine the marvelous workings of our sense of hearing.
When considering the outer ear and tinnitus, cerumen or earwax must be considered. Special wax glands produce cerumen for the ear canal. The purpose of cerumen is to lubricate and keep clean the interior part of the canal, and it helps to protect the canal from infection. As a cautionary note, cotton swabs and other implements should not be pushed into the auditory canals. Earwax can become impacted when swabs are pushed deeply into the ear canals, while other objects can abrade the thin layer of skin that lines the canals, exposing them to inflammation or infection. The best approach to earwax is to leave it alone as much as possible. Most of the time, for most people, earwax moves slowly toward the ear opening, carrying dirt and debris with it, keeping the ear canal clean.
For some people, however, this self-cleaning function of the cerumen fails, especially in later life. In such cases, occasional cleaning of the ear canal may be necessary, preferably by a physician. But, for most of us, most of the time, only the outermost part of the canal needs cleaning. If you are using cotton swabs to clean your ears, please exercise caution.
Within the outer ears, tinnitus can arise in two common ways: impacted ear wax and inflammation or infection of the outer ear which is often called swimmer's ear. Both of these tinnitus causes can be identified easily and can be treated by the methods of conventional medicine.
When someone mentions ears, we usually think of the outer ear, the external part that we can see, which is called the pinna or auricle. Outer ears come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all share certain common features: curves and folds made up of cartilage that gather and funnel sounds from the atmosphere around us into the ear canal. Before we go on, let's take just a moment to see how sound works.
Sound travels at about 740 miles per hour as air molecule vibrate in the form of pressure waves. Sound waves resemble the waves that spread on a pond's surface after tossing a rock into the water. We hear the sound as the waves are gathered by the pinna, or outer ear, which funnels the sound through the auditory canal, and then the wave applies pressure against the ear drum. From the ear drum, the energy is passed to the middle ear and inner ear, and then to the brain where it is processed as the sound we hear. With that big picture in mind, let's go back to pick up more details.
After the sound energy is gathered by the pinna, it is funneled through the auditory or ear canal. Only about 1 inch long and about 1/4 inch in diameter, the ear canal functions to funnel the sound collected by the pinna to the eardrum or tympanic membrane. There the pressure of the sound wave will press upon the eardrum according to the intensity of the vibration. The shape of the ear canal is wondrously suited for channeling and focusing sound energy. Shaped well for sound transmission, the auditory canal also slopes to keep water from settling against the tympanic membrane under usual circumstances. The form and dimensions of the auditory canal are just right for transmitting sound and for keeping outer ear infections to a minimum.
The inner boundary of the outer ear is the external side of the tympanic membrane. The ear drum, a membrane of specialized skin, is situated right between the outer and middle ear. Resembling a flat cone, the tympanic membrane transfers the vibrations of the sound wave to the mechanism within the middle ear. The ear drum is amazingly sensitive. When struck by the softest sound that can be heard by a healthy young adult, the tympanic membrane moves only 1 millionth of an inch or so. If you can imagine 1 millionth of an inch, you can begin to imagine the marvelous workings of our sense of hearing.
When considering the outer ear and tinnitus, cerumen or earwax must be considered. Special wax glands produce cerumen for the ear canal. The purpose of cerumen is to lubricate and keep clean the interior part of the canal, and it helps to protect the canal from infection. As a cautionary note, cotton swabs and other implements should not be pushed into the auditory canals. Earwax can become impacted when swabs are pushed deeply into the ear canals, while other objects can abrade the thin layer of skin that lines the canals, exposing them to inflammation or infection. The best approach to earwax is to leave it alone as much as possible. Most of the time, for most people, earwax moves slowly toward the ear opening, carrying dirt and debris with it, keeping the ear canal clean.
For some people, however, this self-cleaning function of the cerumen fails, especially in later life. In such cases, occasional cleaning of the ear canal may be necessary, preferably by a physician. But, for most of us, most of the time, only the outermost part of the canal needs cleaning. If you are using cotton swabs to clean your ears, please exercise caution.
Within the outer ears, tinnitus can arise in two common ways: impacted ear wax and inflammation or infection of the outer ear which is often called swimmer's ear. Both of these tinnitus causes can be identified easily and can be treated by the methods of conventional medicine.