The ears, nose, mouth, and throat control our ability to hear, smell, breathe, speak, taste, swallow, and keep our balance. Whenever one part of the system has problems, it can upset the entire complex, leading to a loss of several sensory experiences. The outer ear, called the auricle or pinna, is the part that protrudes from the head.
Cartilage gives it shape and support.
The outer ear canal is the first part to receive sound, and it focuses sound waves on the eardrum, or tympanic membrane. Measures your central vision using a checkerboard grid with a dark spot in the middle. The grid is shown to you as you alternately cover your right or left eye. If the grid appears distorted, there may be a problem with central vision for that eye. The test is commonly used to detect subtle central vision changes in patients with macular degeneration.