The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1903-09-02
YOU HAVE SIX EARS.
THE ORGANS or HEARING ARE a
WONDERFUL SET or MACHINES.


Anvils. Two stIrrups, s.x Canals.
Two Snail shells, Six Drums and
Several Other Curious UteasiIs.
The hearing apparatus is far more
wonderful than most people have tie
slightest idea OF. Ii j. a marvellous
collection of instruments for receiving.
magnifying and recording sounds or
vibrations. Us the learned term them.
What yoa do when you speak TO a
friend Is TO throw the air into vibra-
ton. Your vocal organs strike the air,
and the impulses thus caused reach tie
trumpet shaped bits of flesh and gr.stle
you call ears. You have altogether six
ears.
The flaps which are stuck on TO each
side of the head are the outer ears. Be.
sides these there are the middle ears
and the inner ears. all Of which lie in
cavities in the bones of the Lead. Ill
that the flaps DO IS to collect and CON
centrate the vibrating currents of ali.
Sd that they may strike the ear drums.
These latter are really the middle
ears. The outer ear narrows as it or
ters the head ana ends in n ring. \
membrane is stretched over this ring.
much in the same way as a piece OF
parchment is stretched over the head
of Il drum.
The ear drum is a true drum. for il
can be frightened and slacSened by
means of levers made for that purpose.
The tightening and s%lackening are done
quite automatically to suit the various
sounds.
This is how it is frightened: In the
middle ear are four tiny bones, the
most peculiar looking bones imagina-
bic. The biggest is Il little odd shaped
bone called the mallet. 1t looks like Il
lilliputian version of u Holsters claw.
Minute muscles are attached to it. 50
that it may act as a lever to increase
or diminish the tension of the drum
skin. One muscle relaXes the mem
brane. another pulls it taut.
The four bones form u chain to OH
meet the drum skin of the outer ear with
the drum skin of the inner and so to
conduct the sound. The next bone TO
the mallet is the anvil, then come the
spherical bone and the stirrup, which
looks exactly like its namesake. but it
is by far the most important of the
four. BY means of this alone IN can
hear, in a fashion, even if all the others
be gone.
y bony. gristly tube joins the ear
drum Will the back of the mouth al
the side of the soft palate. Hence the
four bones are always in a bath of air.
quite naked. as ii were. 1t is owing to
this that people who are somewhat
deaf are able TO hear better when they
listen with their mouths open.
Now we come to the Utmost ear
which is made up of three parts. The
first one is called the vestibule. or hall.
and 1t has a drumhead to which the
chain of little bones is attached.
The ball leads to the other parts,
both of which consist of tortuous tubes
along which the sound passes. One
part is made of three semicircular
canals. The other is shaped exactly as
Il snairs shell. All these make up a
peculiar labyrinth. and all are COM
pletely filed with a curious fluid. Their
walls are lined with the soft. pulpy
nerves of hearing which communicate
with the brain. Owing to these com
pick and winding cavities. a great ex-
tent of nerves is exposed for the recep-
ton of sound.
Now let us see what happens when
somebody says Hear to you.
The air is thrown into vibrations,
which spread out and out until they
touch the side of your head. There
the fleshy flap on one side collects and
m~agnifes the vibrations.
Down the ear funnel they pass until
they reach the membrane of the drum
of the ear. They strike on the mem
brane, which adapts itself to them.
Then the vibrations are communicated.
through the bones in the middle ear,
to the membrane covering the entrance
TO the labyrinth.