Presbycusis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Presbycusis - Essay Example The process of normal hearing starts when sound waves are conducted through the outer ear canal to the eardrum. The eardrum in return vibrates to set the malleus, the incus, and the stapes of the middle ear in motion. These three bones which terminate in the fluid filled opening within the inner ear particularly the snail like structure, cochlea responds to vibrations from the surroundings that are the basis of sound. The chain of command from these three bones triggers the fluid which relays the oscillating currents to the organ of corti. Currents are transferred with the help of the tiny hair projections lining the internal membrane of the cochlea and waving like the smooth underwater plants to move the sound that stimulates nerve endings. Thousands of these nerving endings which merge at the end of the cochlea unite to become the auditory nerve which carries nerve impulses to the hearing area of the cerebral cortex in the brain (Wagman, 1992). Presbycusis which is a progressive he aring loss is caused by defects in the outer, middle or inner ear. Presence of congenital deformities in the outer ear may interfere with the capture of sound waves from the environment that maybe funneled to the ear canal.