Outer ear

Template:Infobox Anatomy

WikiDoc Resources for Outer ear

Articles

Most recent articles on Outer ear

Most cited articles on Outer ear

Review articles on Outer ear

Articles on Outer ear in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ

Media

Powerpoint slides on Outer ear

Images of Outer ear

Photos of Outer ear

Podcasts & MP3s on Outer ear

Videos on Outer ear

Evidence Based Medicine

Cochrane Collaboration on Outer ear

Bandolier on Outer ear

TRIP on Outer ear

Clinical Trials

Ongoing Trials on Outer ear at Clinical Trials.gov

Trial results on Outer ear

Clinical Trials on Outer ear at Google

Guidelines / Policies / Govt

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Outer ear

NICE Guidance on Outer ear

NHS PRODIGY Guidance

FDA on Outer ear

CDC on Outer ear

Books

Books on Outer ear

News

Outer ear in the news

Be alerted to news on Outer ear

News trends on Outer ear

Commentary

Blogs on Outer ear

Definitions

Definitions of Outer ear

Patient Resources / Community

Patient resources on Outer ear

Discussion groups on Outer ear

Patient Handouts on Outer ear

Directions to Hospitals Treating Outer ear

Risk calculators and risk factors for Outer ear

Healthcare Provider Resources

Symptoms of Outer ear

Causes & Risk Factors for Outer ear

Diagnostic studies for Outer ear

Treatment of Outer ear

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

CME Programs on Outer ear

International

Outer ear en Espanol

Outer ear en Francais

Business

Outer ear in the Marketplace

Patents on Outer ear

Experimental / Informatics

List of terms related to Outer ear

## Overview[edit | edit source]

The outer ear is the external portion of the ear, which consists of the pinna, concha, and auditory meatus. It gathers sound energy and focuses it on the eardrum (tympanic membrane). One consequence of the configuration of the external ear is to selectively boost the sound pressure 30- to 100-fold for frequencies around 3000 Hz. This amplification makes humans most sensitive to frequencies in this range - and also explains why they are particulary prone to acoustical injury and hearing loss near this frequency. Most human speech sounds are also distributed in the bandwidth around 3 kHz.

## Pinna, or auricle[edit | edit source]

The visible part is called the pinna and functions to collect and focus sound waves. Many mammals can move the pinna (with the auriculares muscles) in order to focus their hearing in a certain direction in much the same way that they can turn their eyes. Most humans, unlike most other mammals, do not have this ability.

## Ear canal, or external auditory meatus[edit | edit source]

From the pinna the sound pressure waves move into the ear canal, a simple tube running to the middle ear. This tube amplifies frequencies in the range 3 kHz to 12 kHz.

Template:Auditory system

et:Väliskõrv no:Ytre øre sk:Vonkajšie ucho fi:Ulkokorva te:వెలుపలి చెవి

Template:WH Template:WikiDoc Sources