Hearing is a type of brain function (sometimes referred to as "brain hearing"). The auditory nerve in your ears transmits sound as electrical impulses, but it is within your brain that these electrical impulses are transformed into what we identify as sound. Sound waves trigger the movement of small hairs on the inside of your ear called cilia. These hairs vibrate, sending signals to your brain through two tiny holes in your skull called eardrums. Your brain then interprets these vibrations as sound.