Hearing plays a central role in many people's lives, so it is important to understand how the ear works. The sense of hearing is significant to a wide variety of areas, such as verbal communication and its assistance in detecting what is in our immediate environment. What if you were walking across the street and couldn’t hear the bus coming up on your left? Hearing is a lot more than what can be seen from the outside, and there are many different parts that contribute to the auditory system as a whole. Let us explore the complex and fascinating subject of the auditory system. As you explore this site to learn about the ear and outer hair cell loss, refer to the glossary page for vocabulary definitions. |