The ear is the most advanced and sensitive sensori organ of the human body. The ear has two functions. The first and primary is to detect and transform sounds for transfer to the brain. The other the is the sense of balance. The ear consists of three parts:

The outer ear The middle ear The inner ear

Each of these parts performs specific and separate tasks. There are several different kinds of diseases and disorders which affect different parts of the ear. If only one section of this sensitive system is not functioning properly, then some sounds cannot be detected and sent to the brain. The External Ear: Sounds are picked up by the outer ear which consists of the Pinna and the external ear canal. The Pinna is the external projection of the ear and is the only visible portion. The Pinna collects sounds, amplify certain frequencies important to human speech and directs them into the external ear canal. The ear canal averages 35mm in length and serves several functions. It's primary job is to align sound waves and further boosts important speech frequencies. Additionally the ear canal produces Cerumen more commonly known as earwax. Cerumen serves several important functions, keeping the ear canal supple, migrating dry skin, and debris out of the canal. Because of it's acidic properties wax keeps bacteria, fungus from multiplying and insects out. While a common cause of temporary hearing loss earwax is necessary and beneficial. The external ear canal also protects the Tympanic Membrane often called the eardrum from perforations. The eardrum is a flexible, circular membrane which vibrates when stimulated by sound waves. The Middle Ear: Sound waves are transformed into mechanical vibrations at the eardrum. Here, there are three tiny bones the Malus, Incus and Stapes often called the hammer, anvil and stirrup. These bones form a bridge from the eardrum into the inner ear. In addition to transmitting the sound vibrations, they also increase them by amplifying them twenty one times. The Oval Window is the next structure vibrations pass through as they enter the inner ear. The Inner Ear: Once the amplified sound waves have passed through the oval window, they continue into the inner ear called the Cochlea. The inner ear has three canals filled with fluid. The fluid is put into motion by the Oval Window, in turn, causing a shearing action in tiny hair cells. These hair cells line the Organ of Corti and are arranged in four rows, three outer and one inner. The inner row converts changes in hydraulic pressure to electrical-chemical impulses which after passing through several routing areas finally reach the auditory processing centers of the brain. The outer three rows of hair cells act as a biologic motor, amplifying soft sounds and dampening loud ones.

Both ears are needed to hear well:

We have two ears to tell our brain from which direction sounds are coming from. So if there is hearing loss in both ears, it is recommended to acquire hearing aids for both ears. If only one ear suffers from hearing loss, individuals can manage using the better one, but by using a hearing aid in the defective ear, life is made so much easier. Some important advantages include the following:

Your ability to localize sounds will improve: you need two ears to tell you where sounds come from. It is easier to understand speech in noisy surroundings: the brain needs input from both ears in order to separate sounds efficiently. You will experience a more complete and comfortable sound picture if you can use both your ears: think of mono and stereo sounds. Two ears give you the sense of both space and volume.