Know your Body – Ear

EARS

Did you hear something? Maybe the sound you heard was as quiet as your cat licking her paws. Or maybe it was loud, like a siren going by. Sounds are everywhere, and you have two cool parts on your body that let you hear them all: your ears!

Your ears are in charge of collecting sounds, processing them, and sending sound signals to your brain. We don’t notice the slight delay between someone’s lips moving and the sound reaching our ears. It’s too fast! Sounds normally reach one ear first and then the other. This helps our brains work out where sounds are coming from and how far away they are.

Sensors in your ears work with those in your eyes,

muscles, joints, and feet to let your brain know your body’s position. The liquid in the tubes of your ear is like water in a cup. When you spin, it continues to slosh around for a while even after you’ve stopped. Your brain gets confused about which way round you are, and you feel dizzy as a result. Partially deaf people may use hearing aids. These make the sounds entering the ear louder and easier to hear.

Your ears take care of you, so take care of them. Protect your hearing by wearing earplugs at loud music concerts and around noisy machinery, like in a wood or metal shop at school. Keep the volume down on your stereo, especially if you’re in the car or wearing headphones.

And one last thing — don’t go poking around in your ears, even with cotton buds.