Review of Anatomy
and Physiology of the
Ear
Warm-up: The Smallest Bone in the Human
Body
• ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF OUTER EAR
• Pinna
• Ear canal Overview
• Tympanic membrane
• ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MIDDLE EAR
• Bones
• Muscles
• Ligaments and tendons
• Nerve(s)
• Eustachian tube
• ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF INNER EAR
• Bony and Membranous Labyrinths
• Cochlea
• Organ of Corti
• Basilar membrane
• Auditory nerve fibers
• Vestibular System
• Semicircular canals
• Utricle and Saccule
• CENTRAL AUDITORY SYSTEM
Overview of the Peripheral Auditory System
The Outer Ear
The Outer Ear: Pinna - Landmarks
Helix
Scaphoid Fossa Triangular Fossa
Antihelix
Crus of Helix
Tragus
Concha
Antitragus Intertragal Notch
Lobe (Lobule)
Crus = “Leg shaped”
The Outer Ear: External Auditory Meatus
Horizontal Coronal View
View (Right (Right Ear)
Ear)
• 25 to 30 mm long from concha to the tympanic membrane
• Outer 1/3 cartilaginous, inner 2/3 bony
• Cerumen, sebum, and hair in cartilaginous portion
The Tympanic Membrane: Landmarks
• Tympanic membrane (TM) forms
medial wall of EAM
• Tissue layer facing EAM is part of
the outer ear
• Tissue layer facing middle ear is
part of the middle ear
• Two main divisions:
• Pars tensa
• Pars flaccida
• Otoscopic image is from the right ear
• Cone of light points anteriorly
toward nose
The Tympanic Membrane: Landmarks
Major Landmarks
The Tympanic Membrane: Multiple Layers
Canal Side
Epithelial Layer
Fibrous Layers
Mucosal Layer
Middle Ear Cavity
• Fibrous layers (radial and concentric fibers) may not
heal after perforation resulting in hypermobile
tympanic membrane
Physiology: Outer Ear Transfer Function
Gain (dB)
Frequency (kHz)
• Features of the pinna and ear canal “boost” sound energy at different
frequencies
Physiology: Sound Localization (Elevation)
Pinna Related Transfer Functions in Action
The Middle Ear
The Middle Ear Cavity: Landmarks
• Middle Ear Cavity
• 3 bones
• 7 ligaments/tendons
• 2 muscles
• 1 nerve
• 1 tube linking middle ear to
nasopharynx
The Middle Ear Cavity: Ossicles
Disarticulated ossicles
• Ossicles articulate by
synovial joints—incudo-
malleolar joint, and incudo-
stapedial joint
Articulated
ossicles
Fits into oval window
• Handle of malleus is
attached to the tympanic
membrane; footplate of
Attached to tympanic membrane
stapes is attached to the
oval window of bony
labyrinth
The Middle Ear Cavity: Muscles
Tensor Tympani Tensor Tympani
• Innervated by the trigeminal
nerve (V n.)
• Pulls inward on the malleus
and tenses the eardrum,
hence “tensor tympani.”
The Middle Ear Cavity: Muscles
Stapedius
• Innervated by the
Stapedius
facial nerve (VIIth).
• Pulls so that stapes
rotates out of the oval
window. Adds to
stiffness of the
ossicular chain.
The Middle Ear Cavity: Eustachian Tube
• Runs from nasopharynx to middle ear
• Normally closed; Opens during yawning, sneezing or
swallowing
• Keeps the middle ear ventilated
• If it stays closed, fluid can develop in the middle ear
space and collect there
The Middle Ear Cavity: Facial Nerve
• Facial nerve enters temporal bone
from brainstem through the
internal auditory meatus, travels
superiorly to cochlea into tube in
middle ear, arcs inferiorly around
stapes, exits temporal bone
through stylomastoid foramen
• Facial nerve innervates stapedius
muscle
• Chorda tympani is branch of the
facial nerve that travels directly
The Middle Ear Cavity: Endoscopic View
Physiology: Middle Ear Transfer Function
The Problem: Fluid
• Cochlea is filled with fluid Filled
Cavity
99.9% of
sound energy
• Middle ear cavity filled with air reflected
0.1% of
Sound energy
transferred
• Fluid is non-compressible
30 dB loss of energy!
• Most energy is reflected when
sound waves traveling through
air strikes water
• Sound energy would bounce off
the oval window: IMPEDANCE
MISMATCH
Physiology: Middle Ear Overcomes Impedance
Mismatch in Two Ways
1. AREA RATIO between the TM and the stapes
footplate in the oval window (18 to 1). Effective size
of TM is about 60 mm2 and of oval window is 3.2 mm2.
dB = 20 log (18.75/1)
dB = 20 (1.25)
dB = 25
(In Gelfand, S. (2000). Essentials of Audiology)
Physiology: Middle Ear Overcomes Impedance
Mismatch in Two Ways
2. Lever action of manubrium and long process of
incus (1.3:1)
dB = 20 log (1.3/1)
dB = 20 (0.11)
dB = 2.3
(In Gelfand, S. (2000). Essentials of Audiology)
Physiology: Middle Ear Overcomes Impedance
Mismatch in Two Ways
• Middle ear adds ~ 28-30 dB to sound from TM to
the oval window
• If the middle ear is not functioning, the result is
attenuation of sound: CONDUCTIVE HEARING
LOSS
The Inner Ear
The Inner Ear: Bony Labyrinth and Fluid
Chamber
Bony labyrinth encases
fluid-filled ducts and
chambers of the
semicircular canals,
vestibule, and cochlea
Bony labyrinth
perilymph
- High in Na+
Membranous labyrinth
endolymph
- High in K+
Cochlea
Structure coils about 2 1/2
to 23/4 turns around the modiolus, a bony,
hollow core
Basal turn:
Largest diameter
Apical turn:
Smallest diameter
Apical Turn
Basal Turn
Cochlea in Cross Section
• Bony casing surrounds fluid-filled
ducts
• Perilymph in SV and ST
• Endolymph in SM
• Cochlea has a basal, middle, and
apical turn
• Each turn shows three ducts
• The scala vestibuli and scala
tympani are connected at the tip of
the cochlea by the helicotrema.
Cochlea Uncoiled
Uncoiling allows understanding of the
orientation of the fluid-filled chambers
scala vestibuli
scala media
scala tympani
A Closer Look at Single Turn
• Scala media separated from the
scala vestibuli by Reissner’s
membrane and from scala
tympani by the basilar
Na+
membrane
K+
• Organ of Corti sits atop the basilar
membrane
• Contains sensory cells of
hearing
Na+
The Organ of Corti
• Single row of inner hair cells, three (or
more) rows of outer hair cells
• Tectorial membrane lays over hair cells
• Stereocilia of OHCs embedded in
membrane
• Steriorcila of IHCs are “free-standing”
• Reticular membrane covers superior
surface of hair cells and keeps
endolymph in scala media
• Basilar membrane forms the floor of the
organ of Corti
The Organ of Corti
• The organ of Corti extends
along the entire length of
the cochlea, meaning that
sensory cells are throughout
the cochlea
• Hair cells from base to
apex
Basilar Membrane
• Narrower and stiffer at
cochlear base
• Wider and floppier at
cochlear apex
General Hair Cell Features
• Stereocilia are connected at
their ”tips”—they are “tip-
linked” and move as a unit
• (These features are also true
of hair cells in the vestibular
system)
General Hair Cell Features
Inner Hair Cells (IHCs)
• Flask-shaped
• ~3500 in entire cochlea
• Primary sensory cells of
hearing
Outer Hair Cells (OHCs)
• Rod-shaped
• ~12000 in entire cochlea
• “Secondary” cells of
hearing
Cochlear Physiology
• Vibration from stapes footplate is imparted into the
perilymph of the scala vestibuli
• Inward motion of stapes leads to outward motion of
round window
• Pressure differences between scala vestibuli and scala
tympani cause basilar membrane to vibrate
Cochlear Physiology: Basilar Membrane
Tonotopy
Apex
Base
Stapes Traveling Wave
at Oval Peak
• Waves on the basilar membrane are Window Vestibule
Helicotrema
Scala Vestibuli
called “traveling waves” Round
Window
High Frequency
Scala Tympani
Mid Frequency Low Frequency
• Stiffness gradient of basilar membrane
BASE Distance along the cochlear duct APEX
tunes it to different frequencies from High
from base to apex
Low
base to apex Frequencies Frequencies
• High frequencies cause traveling
waves at cochlear base - Stiffer and
narrower at base
• Mid frequencies cause traveling
waves in middle of cochlea
• Low frequencies cause traveling
waves at cochlear apex - Floppier Traveling wave shifts location as frequency changes
and wider at apex
• “Tonotopic tuning”
Hair Cells
Inner hair cells release Outer hair cells contract
neurotransmitter and expand with
(glutamate) when depolarization and
depolarized hyperpolarization
Traveling waves in cadaver ear vs. living
• This initiates an action ear • This adds energy to BM
potential in type I vibrations, making them
auditory nerve fibers larger and sharper
• OHCs preferentially
OHCs
• IHCs are not sensitive to IHC
low intensity vibrations amplify low-intensity
• Need OHCs to vibrations more than
amplify traveling high intensity vibrations
wave enough to • Loss of OHCs causes
cause IHC to Sensorineural Hearing
depolarizeType I Auditory Nerve Fiber Loss
The Auditory Nerve
Auditory Nerve: Two Types of Afferent Neurons
• Type I neurons are large,
myelinated and originate on
the IHC. They are
sometimes called INNER
RADIAL FIBERS.
• Type II are small,
unmyelinated and originate
on the OHC. They are called
OUTER SPIRAL FIBERS.
Inner Hair Cells Convert Traveling Waves into
Action Potentials
• Basilar membrane
tonotopic tuning is
maintained in
depolarization patterns of
hair cells and thus in
auditory nerve fiber
activity
Auditory Nerve Fiber Tuning
Tone Stimulus Neural Tuning Curve
• Auditory nerve fibers are tuned to “best”
frequencies, but respond to other
frequencies when played at higher
volumes
• Tuning of a specific fiber can be
determined by inserting an electrode into
fiber, playing different frequencies at
different volumes, and monitoring
excitation of the fiber
• The plot of nerve fiber sensitivity across
different frequencies is called a tuning
curve
Auditory Nerve Fiber Tuning
Auditory
Nerve
Fibers
Auditory Nerve
Cross Section
Low frequency auditory nerve fibers are in center of
modiolus, high frequency on outside
Vestibular Schwannoma
Central Auditory
Nervous System
The Afferent Auditory Nervous System
Carries signals from inner ear to cortex
The Afferent Auditory Nervous System
• Central auditory pathways are dedicated to processing
auditory information, from brainstem to cortex
• Auditory nerve
• Cochlear nucleus
• Superior olivary complex
• Lateral lemniscus
• Inferior colliculus
• Medial geniculate body
• Auditory cortex
• ~75% of auditory fibers cross over to the other side in the
pons, ascending to the cortex on the side opposite their point
of entry
• As the auditory neural tracts ascend in the central nervous
system they make synapses in several nuclei
• Tonotopic arrangement of the auditory nerve is maintained
throughout the brainstem and auditory cortex Carries signals from inner ear to cortex
The Efferent Auditory Nervous System
Carries signals from cortex to inner ear
Summary
• The physical processing of acoustic information occurs in three groups of
structures, commonly known as the outer, middle, and inner ears.
• The outer ear has three main components: the pinna, the ear canal or
meatus, and the outer layer of the eardrum or tympanic membrane. The
outer ear serves to collect and resonate sound, assist in sound
localization, and function as a protective mechanism for the middle ear.
• The middle ear is an air-filled space located within the temporal bone of
the skull. It contains the ossicular chain, which consists of three
contiguous bones suspended in space, linking the tympanic membrane
to the oval window of the cochlea. The middle ear structures act as an
impedance matching device, providing a bridge between the airborne
pressure waves striking the tympanic membrane and the fluid-borne
traveling waves of the cochlea.
Summary (cont.)
• The inner ear contains the cochlea, which is the sensory organ of
hearing. The cochlea consists of fluid-filled membranous channels within
a spiral canal that encircles a bony central core. Here the sound waves,
transformed into mechanical energy by the middle ear, set the fluid of
the cochlea into motion in a manner consistent with their intensity and
frequency. Waves of fluid motion impinge on the membranous labyrinth
and set off a chain of events that result in neural impulses being
generated at the VIIIth cranial nerve.
• The auditory nervous system is primarily an afferent system that
transmits neural signals from the cochlea to the auditory cortex.
Neurons leave the cochlea via the VIIIth nerve in an orferly manner and
synapse in the lower brainstem. From that point on, the system becomes
richly complex, with multiple crossing pathways and plenty of
opportunity for efferent and intersensory interaction.
