ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the main anatomical structures of the human hearing system that form the path along which incoming music signals travel up to the point where the signal is carried by nerve fibers from the ear(s) to the brain. The function of the middle ear is twofold. First to transmit the movements of the tympanic membrane to the fluid that fills the cochlea without significant loss of energy. Second to protect the hearing system to some extent from the effects of loud sounds, whether from external sources or the individual concerned. The outer ear has an acoustic effect on sounds entering the ear in that it helps us both to locate sound sources and to enhance some frequencies with respect to others. The function of the cochlea is to convert mechanical vibrations into nerve firings to be processed eventually by the brain. Mechanical vibrations reach the cochlea at the oval window via the stapes footplate of the middle ear.
