ILOs:

• Revise the anatomy and physiology of the outer and middle ear
• Describe the anatomical connection between middle ear and pharynx
• Revise how the cochlea converts sound waves into electrical impulses
• Revise the neurological pathways for hearing, from the cochlea to the cortex
• Introduce the concepts of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss
• Describe the effect of normal aging on hearing

• How do we describe sound?
• How is the mammalian ear organised?
• What is the function of the pinna?
• What is the function of the ear canal?
• What is the function of the middle ear?
• What is impedance mismatch
• How do we get sound waves in the air to enter the fluid of the cochlea, instead of bouncing off the air-fluid interface?
• What is the function of the Eustachian tube?
• What is the function of the cochlea?
• What is the structure of the inner ear?
• How does sound flow through it?
• What is the structure of the organ of corti?