Human hearing organs for children. Lesson notes with presentation “Our miracle ears. Why do we perceive different sounds unevenly?

Our life is filled with various events that revolve around us. We get used to everyday things, taking them for granted. Thus, we use our visual, olfactory, tactile and auditory organs without even knowing what interesting abilities they have. Today we will look at the most interesting facts about human ears that you probably never knew about.

Balance

The ears, as an organ, are responsible not only for a person’s hearing abilities. The fact is that near the inner ear there are special channels called vestibular apparatus, which are responsible for human balance and stability. A special type of signal passes through these channels, which determines the position of a person relative to the objects around him.

Distinctive features

If you carefully examine any image of a person, you will soon notice that human ears are different. It should be noted that not only the ears, but also all other paired human organs have this ability. Although, often, these differences are invisible, the fact itself takes place.

Leader among two

Scientists conducting various studies in the field of studying man and his characteristics have noted that all people have leading ear. It is the person who directs it in the direction of the outgoing sound, trying to hear it carefully. So, the majority of people, namely 75%, used the right ear for these purposes, while the remaining 15% were content with the left. All this has its own scientific explanation, which scientists offer us. The fact is that it is the left hemisphere of the brain that is responsible for logical and mathematical thinking, which is not given to the right hemisphere, which is responsible for human art and creativity. So, which hemisphere predominates in you, means that your ear is in the lead.

Growth over the lifespan

It will blow away to note that the ears, or rather lobes grow with us all our lives. It's hard to believe, but people who have been fixing their ears for many years will easily agree with this statement. Of course, in this branch of science, there are disagreements between scientists.

Some of them agree with this fact, while others are inclined towards age-related skin sagging. It can be easily noticed in women who prefer to wear bulky jewelry on their ears, which noticeably pulls down the lobes throughout their lives.

Independent body

It is also worth mentioning the self-cleaning abilities of the ear. The fact is that in the ear canal there are hairs, which scientists call ear cilia. They are the ones who push out sulfur, which collects various microscopic impurities and microbes trying to get inside.

Sulfur

Speaking about sulfur, it should be clarified that it is good for the ears, as it protects the delicate ear canals from pollution. Because of this, doctors specializing in this industry advise removing dirt only from the visible part of the ear canal. Typically its length is determined by the distance you can travel with your little finger. You should not go deeper with cotton swabs, as you risk damaging the delicate skin of the ear or even creating a wax plug that will have to be treated medically.

Sensitivity

Both the skin and cartilage located in the ears are very delicate. Even ordinary water can become an irritant to such skin, causing various ear infections. Cartilage also requires special care, since with an unsuccessful blow they can be damaged, which will at least lead to hearing loss.

Muscle addiction

The human ears are an organ whose muscles cannot contract voluntarily. This means that you cannot move your ears without affecting the facial muscles. However, many have succeeded in acquiring this unusual skill. Others, based on these abilities, create special exercises that not only make the ears move, but also tone the skin of the face.

Fact from history

According to notes from history, our auditory organs were not always considered sense organs. Thus, at the beginning of the twentieth century in Tibet, ears were named as a subject of taxation. Those who could pay remained safe, and those who did not have large funds simply lost their ears.

Development

Scientists say that hearing, as a human ability, can be developed. Of course, you don’t need to attend any courses to do this: you just need to spend a small amount of time listening to music. It could be classical or even modern music. The main thing is that you enjoy this process and do not exceed the volume.

Changes in sensitivity

It is safe to say that our hearing abilities change throughout our lives. Thus, a child can hear any frequency audible to humans, while older people will only hear a certain one.

According to this ability, one can find out the age of the listener only by giving him the opportunity to listen to different frequencies. All the results obtained depend on the sensory receptors that are located in the human ear. They are called hair cells, and their main feature is that they cannot regenerate. This is what explains the deterioration of hearing with age.

Also, here are a few more interesting facts about ears:

Our ears work while we sleep, but all the sounds they pick up are ignored by our brain.
Sound has its own speed, which is 344 meters per second.
People who actively attend noisy discos and concerts risk losing their hearing much earlier than their peers.
When we bring a sea shell to our ear, we hear nothing more than our own blood flow and the sounds of the environment. But definitely not the sound of sea waves.
The frequency of baby crying far exceeds the frequency of car alarms.

In this article we will figure out how to test hearing in children.

With the arrival of a child in the family, you should devote more time to his health, including the condition of his hearing organs. A variety of infections can cause serious consequences. The most common complications are considered to be speech impairment, inability to socialize in the outside world, and hearing loss.

The sooner ear problems are noticed by parents, the faster it will be possible to identify and eliminate the causes of inflammation and prevent possible complications. To detect problems, it is important to periodically test children's hearing from birth.

What are the consequences of hearing loss?

It is reliably known that even minor hearing impairments can lead to serious deviations in the development of a child. Impairments in the structure of the hearing organ may be temporary. In such situations, there is no reason for parents to worry.

But advanced conditions require help, including surgical interventions. It is important to understand that the consequences of such disorders can become irreversible, including complete hearing loss.

Hearing tests for newborns are carried out in maternity hospitals.

In later life

Situations when disorders appear in adulthood cannot be excluded. A two- to three-year-old child can already speak, but hearing loss can cause speech loss. In such situations, it is necessary to seek specialized help from teachers and doctors to maintain the ability to communicate.

That is why it is necessary to carefully monitor the child’s development process, monitor his hearing and, if the slightest deviation is detected, seek the help of specialists. The hearing tests are quite simple.

A child’s hearing may decrease due to hereditary pathological conditions and as a result of certain diseases, including colds, flu, otitis media, scarlet fever, measles, and mumps. It is also possible that hearing acuity may decrease due to long-term use of antibiotic drugs.

How to test hearing in children? Initially, the test can be done at home. But a full examination by a doctor should still be organized in the first months after the birth of the child. As a rule, it is performed by an otolaryngologist in a clinic.

person: diagram

The ear is a paired organ responsible for the perception of sounds, control of balance and orientation in space. Localized in the temporal region of the skull, there is an outlet - the external auricles.

The ear is designed as follows:

The outer ear is part of the auditory system and includes the pinna and the external auditory canal.
The middle ear consists of four parts - the eardrum and the auditory ossicles (hammer, incus, stirrup).
Inner ear. Its main component is the labyrinth, which is a complex structure in form and function.

With the interaction of all departments, sound waves are transmitted, converted into a neural impulse and entering the human brain.

A diagram of the structure of the human ear is presented below.

Causes of hearing impairment

Everything in babies can be divided into three types:

Sensorineural form.
Conductive.
Mixed (conductive-neurosensory).

All of them can be either pathological or acquired. They can be localized in both ears at the same time, but, as a rule, they affect only one ear.

Conductive disorders develop as a result of trauma to the ear or disease. In addition, conductive hearing loss can occur as a result of abnormalities in the development of the middle, outer ear.

Conductive disorders also include otitis of any kind, inflammatory processes in the pharynx, nose, the appearance of cerumen plugs, and foreign objects entering the ear. As a rule, disorders of this form are easily treatable.

Sensory neural disorders usually include disorders in the structure of the middle and inner ear. A similar problem arises due to trauma to the middle ear, prematurity of the baby, and other prenatal diseases. In this regard, sensorineural disorders often arise due to a hereditary predisposition.

You should pay attention to the health of the child if the mother experienced the following illnesses during pregnancy:

Mumps.
Meningitis.
Inflammations of a viral nature, for example, rubella, colds, flu.

Such violations can also provoke long courses of therapy with antibiotic drugs.

Unfortunately, therapy for this type of hearing loss (ICD 10 - H90.3) takes a long time, and the rehabilitation period is prolonged. Moreover, in the maximum number of cases, therapy is ineffective. in this state is almost impossible.

Mixed disorders develop as a result of exposure to several factors simultaneously. Therapy for such disorders involves the use of special medications and wearing specialized sound amplifiers.

We will consider hearing testing methods below.

Prerequisites for hearing impairment

You should pay attention to the health of the hearing organs if a child under the age of one year does not get scared or flinch from loud sounds. The following facts also serve as signs of violation:

The child does not respond to other people's speech.
The child does not turn to the parents' voice.
The child does not react to loud sounds during sleep.
Doesn't turn his head towards the sound coming from behind.
Does not pay attention to toys that make sounds.
By the age of one year he does not understand the meaning of some simple words.
The child does not begin to make new sounds.

Signs of hearing impairment in children 1-3 years old are somewhat different:

A 1-2 year old child does not have coherent speech.
There is a noticeable disturbance in the process of sound rotation formation.
The child does not perceive speech and often asks again.
The child does not understand the speech of a person in another room.
The child pays more attention not to speech, but to facial expressions.

Checking at home

So, at home? Several simple methods can determine its condition. To do this, you will need toys that make loud sounds: accordions, pipes, rattles. It is necessary to stand at a distance of 6 meters from the child and make sounds with toys. The baby should freeze in the first seconds, and then turn his eyes or head in the direction where the sound comes from.

You can consolidate the effect as follows: make sounds alternately in the child’s line of sight and behind his back.

There is another hearing test, which is called the “pea test”. To carry it out you will need three empty opaque bottles. The first and second should be filled with cereals (buckwheat, peas), the third should be left empty.

After this, the parent should sit a short distance in front of the baby and take one filled and empty container. Then you should start shaking the jars at a thirty-centimeter distance from the child. After a minute, the jars need to be swapped. At the same time, the second parent carefully observes the child’s reactions - he should turn his head in the direction where the sound comes from. The baby's reaction will make it easy to determine whether he hears the sound or not.

This hearing test can only be used in children older than 4 months.

Hearing test for a child over 3 years old

Every parent should know how to test children's hearing. In three-year-old children, hearing can be tested using ordinary speech. You should stand at a six-meter distance from the child. The child should not look at the inspector, so it is better to stand him sideways, covering the other ear with his hand or turunda.

You should start speaking words in a whisper. If the child does not understand what was said, the examiner begins to come closer. In order to test the ability to hear high-contrast sounds, it is necessary to move away from the child at a distance of 15 meters. The words must be spoken clearly and loudly, and the child must, at the same time, repeat them.

The words spoken by the inspector must be understandable to the child.

It is important to understand that the degree of hearing loss is higher, the shorter the distance at which the child cannot understand and repeat words. If such a deviation is detected, you should consult a doctor.

How to test children's hearing using a hearing aid?

Checking on the device

If the slightest inflammation or pain is detected in the ear, you should take the child for examination to a pediatrician, who will determine the need to consult an otolaryngologist or audiologist.

You can test your child’s hearing using a device in several ways. If acute or partial is noted, the following techniques should be used.

For the youngest patients, the external auditory canal is examined and physiological methods are used.
Inspection based on reflex manifestations. It involves the analysis of unconditioned reflexes that arise in response to sounds: the reaction of facial expressions, eyes, flinching, muscle contraction.
Examination for reflexes that occur in response to actions.
Analysis of recording sound waves.
Techniques based on bodily sensations.
Oral examination.

Audiometry

However, the most common way to analyze hearing acuity is through audiometry. It allows you to obtain graphic results of the study, clearly indicating the type of pathology and the degree of its development. Audiometry is performed using specialized equipment - an audiometer.

The procedure consists of the fact that the child, hearing sounds of varying frequencies and intensities, signals his perception using a button.

There are two types of audiometry - electronic and speech. The difference between them is significant. Electronic audiometry records the type of disorder and its degree; speech audiometry, in turn, can only indicate the presence of a disorder, without providing the opportunity to obtain information about the degree of advanced disease.

Conclusion

Thus, when the first symptoms of hearing loss are detected in a young child, it is important to seek the help of a specialist as soon as possible, who will determine the cause of the disorder and recommend effective therapy. Treatment of hearing loss (ICD 10 - H90.3) should be started in a timely manner, since hearing and the ability to speak directly affect the degree of socialization of the child and his further development. Under no circumstances should hearing problems be left unattended. After all, serious complications with hearing in a child can be caused even by the flu suffered by a pregnant mother.

You can often hear that a person has two ears. But that's not true. What we usually see and call the ear is only one of its parts. In fact Each ear consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. All parts work in harmony (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Structure of the ear ()

Outer ear- this is the auricle along with the auditory canal (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Structure of the outer ear ()

Thanks to its slightly conical shape, Auricle picks up sounds, collects vibrations and directs them inward, into ear canal which ends eardrum(a piece of thin leather stretched tightly, like on a drum).

It is known that sound can cause vibrations. For example, while a train is moving, all window glass shakes (vibrates).

When the auricle picks up a sound and transmits it through the external auditory canal to the ear, the eardrum begins to vibrate under the influence of this sound, transmitting the sound to the ear. middle ear, which is located deep in the skull (Fig. 4, 5).

Rice. 4. Collecting sound waves in the ear

Rice. 5. The eardrum vibrates

Rice. 6. Hammer, stapes and incus

And there, through the smallest bones in the human body - malleus, stapes and anvil(Fig. 6) - transmits sound to inner ear - snail(Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Structure of the ear ()

The snail is filled with fluid, and its inner surface is covered with cells with tiny hairs. Under the influence of “waves” of liquid, the hairs begin to vibrate, creating signals that are sent to the brain via auditory nerves(Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Transmission of sound signal to the brain ()

In the inner ear above the cochlea there are small loops in the form of an arch - semicircular canals, which, like the cochlea, are filled with liquid (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Structure of the ear ()

When we move, the channels shift, the fluid sways slightly and the brain recognizes what position our body is in. It sends signals to the muscles, and we change our body position to avoid falling.

Therefore, the ear is also called the organ of balance.

Thanks to a device in the ear that is responsible for balance, an acrobat in a circus rests on a ball, and a tightrope walker walks on a rope (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. Tightrope walker

Rice. 11. Rotation of water in a stationary glass

Rice. 12. Carousel

Sometimes it happens that a person is already at rest (for example, sitting motionless on a chair), but the fluid in the semicircular canals is still in motion.

To understand this, it is enough to conduct an experiment: you need to pour water into a glass and carefully, but quickly enough, move the glass in a circle, and then place the glass on the table. The glass is motionless, but the water in the glass continues to rotate for some time (Fig. 11).

The same thing happens with our semicircular canals when a person rides a carousel or spins in one place (Fig. 12). The person has stopped spinning, the fluid in the semicircular canals is still moving. The hairs continue to inform the brain about movement, although the person is already standing still. The brain receives two conflicting messages and cannot accurately determine the position of the head. That's why many people feel dizzy after the carousel. When the fluid in the semicircular canals stops, the brain receives the correct information, and the person regains balance.

Produced in the auditory canal earwax. This yellowish, slightly sticky substance, with a bitter taste, kills germs that enter the ear along with dust. So earwax is beneficial.

Rice. 13. Take care of your ears ()

Ears need to be treated with care, because all parts of the ear are extremely fragile, and hearing is a person’s wealth (Fig. 13). To protect your hearing, you need to:

Do not listen to loud music, especially with headphones.

Do not shout yourself and avoid places where there are loud and sharp sounds.

Wash your ears every day.

You can clean your ears only with cotton swabs.

Do not insert foreign objects into the ear to avoid damaging the eardrum.

Protect your ears from the wind.

Blow your nose gently and lightly.

Do not allow water to get into your ears and remove it promptly with cotton swabs.

See a doctor if your ears hurt (Fig. 14).

Rice. 14. Consult a doctor ()

In the next lesson we will go back 200 years to get acquainted with the military events of that time, a historical journey that will preserve the memory of the War of 1812.

Bibliography

Vakhrushev A.A., Danilov D.D. The world around us 4. - M.: Ballas.
Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. The world around us 4. - M.: Publishing House "Fedorov".
Pleshakov A.A. The world around us 4. - M.: Enlightenment.

Dic.academic.ru ().
Meduniver.com ().
Festival.1september.ru ().

Homework

Make a test (6 questions) on the topic “Organ of hearing and balance.”
Draw the structure of the ear and make captions.
* Answer the question in detail: “Why do you feel dizzy even when you stand calmly after spinning in place?”

The ear is a pair of hearing organs, a complex vestibular-auditory organ. The ear performs two main and undoubtedly important functions:

capturing sound impulses;
the ability to maintain balance, maintain the body in a certain position.

This organ is located in the area of the temporal bones of the skull, forming the external ears. The human ear perceives sound waves, the length of which varies between 20 m - 1.6 cm.

The structure of the ear is heterogeneous. It consists of three departments:

outer;
average;
interior.

Each department has its own structure. Connected together, the sections form an elongated, peculiar tube that goes deep into the head. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the structure of the human ear using a diagram with a description.

Outer ear

Let's look at the structure of the outer ear. This area begins with the auricle and continues with the external auditory canal. The auricle has the appearance of complex elastic cartilage covered with skin. The lower part is called the lobe - it is a fold consisting of fatty tissue (to a greater extent) and skin. The auricle is most sensitive to various injuries, so in wrestlers it is almost always deformed.

The auricle acts as a receiver for sound waves, which then travel to the inner region of the hearing aid. In humans, it performs much fewer functions than in animals, so it is in a stationary state. Animals can move their ears in different directions, so they can accurately determine the source of the sound.

The folds that make up the pinna move sounds into the ear canal with little distortion. Distortion, in turn, depends on the vertical or horizontal location of the waves. All this allows the brain to receive more accurate information about the location of the sound source.

The main function of the auricle is to detect sound signals. Its continuation is the cartilage of the external meatus, 25-30 mm in length. Gradually, the cartilage region turns into bone. Its outer area is lined with skin and contains sebaceous, sulfur (modified sweat) glands.

The outer ear is separated from the middle ear by the eardrum. The sounds that the auricle picks up when hitting the eardrum cause certain vibrations. The vibrations of the eardrum are sent to the cavity of the middle ear.

Interesting to know. To avoid rupture of the eardrum, soldiers were advised to open their mouths as wide as possible in anticipation of a loud explosion.

Now let's see how the middle ear works. The tympanic cavity is the main part of the middle ear. It is a space with a volume of approximately 1 cubic centimeter located in the area of the temporal bone.

There are three small auditory ossicles located here:

hammer:
anvil;
stapes.

Their function is to transmit sound vibrations from the outer ear to the inner ear. During transmission, the bones increase vibrations. These bones are the smallest bone fragments of the human skeleton. They represent a certain chain through which vibrations are transmitted.

In the middle ear cavity there is the Eustachian or auditory tube, which connects the middle ear cavity with the nasopharynx. Due to the Eustachian tube, the air pressure passing inside and outside the eardrum is equalized. If this does not happen, the eardrum may rupture.

When the external pressure changes, the ears become blocked (the symptom can be relieved by making successive swallowing movements). The main function of the middle ear is to conduct sound vibrations from the eardrum to the oval hole, which leads to the area of the inner ear.

The inner ear is the most complex of all the sections due to its shape.

The “labyrinth” (the structure of the inner ear) consists of two parts:

temporal;
bone

The temporal labyrinth is located intraosseous. Between them there is a small space filled with endolymph (a special liquid). The auditory organ known as the cochlea is located in this area. The organ of balance (vestibular apparatus) is also located here. The following is a diagram of the human inner ear with a description.

The cochlea is a bony spiral-shaped canal divided into two parts by a septum. The membranous septum, in turn, is divided into the upper and lower scalae, which connect at the top of the cochlea. The main membrane contains the sound-receiving apparatus, the organ of Corti. This membrane consists of many fibers, each of which responds to a specific sound.

We have figured out the structure of the auricle and all parts of the inner ear, let’s now look at the structure of the ear and vestibular apparatus.

Important. The balance organ, the vestibular apparatus, is part of the inner ear.

The vestibular apparatus is the peripheral center of the balance organ of the vestibular analyzer. It is an integral part of the inner ear and is located in the temporal cranial bone, or more precisely, in the pyramid, the rockiest part of the skull. The inner ear, called the labyrinth, consists of the cochlea, the vestibular region and the vestibule.

In the human auditory system, there are three semicircular canals in the form of semirings, the ends of which are open and, as it were, soldered into the bone of the vestibule. Since the canals are located in three different planes, they are called frontal, sagittal, horizontal. The middle and inner ears are connected by the round and oval windows (these windows are closed).

The oval is located in the bone of the vestibule, covering it with the stirrup (auditory ossicle). You can tell whether the window is completely closed or not by looking at the base of the stirrup. The second window is located in the capsule of the first cochlear curl; it is closed by a dense but rather elastic membrane.

Inside the bony labyrinth there is a membranous labyrinth, the space between their walls is filled with a special liquid - perilymph. The membranous labyrinth is closed and filled with endolymph. It consists of three sections - the vestibule sacs, the semicircular canals, and the cochlear duct. There are reliable barriers inside the system that prevent the mixing of physiological fluids.

With some diseases of the ear and brain, barriers can be destroyed, fluids mix, and hearing function suffers. An infection can spread through the tubules, which leads to the development of brain abscesses, meningitis, and arachnoiditis.

Another possible problem of the vestibular apparatus is an imbalance between the pressures in the perilymphatic and endalymphatic spaces. It is the balance of pressure that is responsible for the healthy tone of the labyrinth and the normal functioning of the receptors. If the pressure changes, vestibular and auditory disorders develop.

Considering the structure of the ear and vestibular apparatus, one cannot fail to mention receptor cells - they are located in the membranous zone of the semicircular canals of the vestibule region and are responsible for balance. Each channel at one end of the semiring has an extension in which receptors are located (ampulla).

Clusters of receptors are called cupules (flaps). They are similar to the border between the utrculus and the semicircular canals. If the hairs emerging from the nerve cells are displaced, the body receives a signal about the need to move the body or head in space.

The vestibule sacs contain clusters of other nerve cells - they form the otolithic apparatus. The hairs of cellular structures are located in otoliths - crystals washed by endolymphatic fluid. The otoliths of the sacculus part are located in the frontal planes, the ratio of their placement in the left and right labyrinths is 45 degrees.

The otoliths of the utriculus element are located in the sagittal plane, they are located horizontally among themselves. The fibers of nerve cells that extend to the sides are collected into nerve bundles and subsequently exit with the facial nerve through the auditory canal into the brain stem (that is, they enter the cranial cavity). Here they already form integral clusters - nuclei.

There is a powerful cross-type connection between the nuclei; the nerve pathways that come from the receptors are called afferent; they transmit a signal from the periphery to the central part of the system. There are also efferent connections that are responsible for transmitting impulses from the central parts of the brain to the vestibular receptors.

Health

1. Do men hear worse?

Men are more likely to experience hearing loss than women. And they do not have an additional filter, as many assume. They are simply more often involved in noisy professions and this often damages their hearing.

2. Loud music and your ears

Music is not harmful to hearing; problems only begin when it comes to loud music. Loud music is not only a problem in clubs and pubs, but also in your headphones. By the way, listening to music through headphones increases the number of bacteria by 700 times.

3. The ears are a self-cleaning organ.

The ears are self-cleaning. Pores in the ear canal produce earwax, and small hairs called cilia push it out of the ears. If you use headphones incorrectly, you can damage your ears.

4. Dangerous decibels

The slightest sound you can hear is 0 decibels. The volume level of a jet engine is 120 decibels, and the volume of a gun shot is 140 decibels. If you are exposed to 90 decibels or more for 8 hours, it can damage your hearing. Anything over 140 decibels causes immediate damage.

5. Hearing loss is common.

About three out of five people aged 60 and over experience some degree of hearing loss. And 40 percent of these people will need a hearing aid.

6. The sound of the ocean in a shell

The sound of the raging ocean that we hear when we put a seashell to our ear is not the ocean, but the sound of blood running through the veins in the ear.

7. Children often get ear infections

Water that gets into the ear can cause hearing loss. This most often occurs in children and can cause a painful ear infection. It is easy to treat, but cannot be ignored.

8. Hearing and balance

Your ears play an important role in keeping you balanced. Next to the cochlea there are three sequential channels that work like a gyroscope to keep us balanced and give information about where you are in space. So with an ear infection, some people have difficulty with balance.

9. Sports and a mutilated ear

Rugby players often have cauliflower-shaped ears. This occurs when the outer cartilage of the ear, which does not contain bones, is repeatedly damaged.

10. Child's hearing

Children have more sensitive hearing. At birth, the human ear is capable of hearing the lowest sound of 20 hertz (which is lower than the lowest sound of a piano) and the highest sound of 20,000 hertz.