Helping people of all ages with
listening difficulties in South Australia
Over three million Australians are affected by some form of hearing impairment. This doesn’t only affect these three million people, but also the friends and relatives around them who now struggle to have even the simplest conversations with them.
To be able to speak to and communicate with those around us is crucial in our daily lives. It helps us to develop intelligence, understanding and feelings. Without it we can become frustrated with the inability to express ourselves and hear the expressions of those around us.
Thankfully, the technology of today makes hearing easier to achieve than ever before. We can help undo the negative affect your hearing loss is having on your relationships and quality of life. The world is full of amazing sounds to experience, and with our help, you can rediscover it all.
Understanding your ears
Your ear is made up of three different sections, which include:
Outer ear – this comprises of everything you can see down the ear canal to the drum.
Middle ear – this comprises of the space behind the eardrum that houses the three smallest bones in the human body - the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup). These bones transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear.
Inner ear – this comprises of the cochlea and semicircular canals. The cochlea is a pea-sized, spiral-shaped structure nestled in the bone of the skull. It is filled with fluid, within which there is a thin membrane containing thousands of microscopic hairs. Each hair is tuned to a particular pitch and connects to the hearing nerve that transmits messages to the brain. The semicircular canals are what help to give us our sense of balance.
How hearing works
When something makes a noise, it sends sound waves through the air. These sound waves are collected by the outer ear and channelled along the ear canal to the eardrum. The impact on the eardrum creates vibrations that are transmitted along the three bones of the middle ear. The last of these bones (the stapes) connects to the inner ear.
When the stapes vibrates, it moves the fluid within the inner ear. This movement causes the tiny hairs that are connected to the lining of the inner ear to bend in a wavelike action. The bending of these hairs sets off an electrical signal that is transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve.