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How the Ear Functions

194011 min 39 sec30 shots

Live-action demonstrations and animated anatomical diagrams explain how airborne sound vibrations become nerve signals that the brain perceives as hearing. Ripples in water and a ringing bell introduce wave motion, while enlarged views identify the outer ear, ear canal, eardrum, middle ear, Eustachian tube, inner ear, and auditory nerve. The film shows the eardrum moving the malleus, incus, and stapes; the stapes then presses at the oval window and sets the liquid of the inner ear in motion. It also explains that the Eustachian tube equalizes air pressure across the eardrum.

Detailed models open the labyrinth and the spiral-shaped cochlea to show their internal structures. The semicircular canals assist with balance, while movement within the cochlea stimulates nerve activity that travels to the brain through the auditory nerve. Simplified animation traces this entire process from incoming sound waves to the sensation of hearing. The closing message describes hearing as delicate and urges viewers to protect it.

Provenance and rights

Original producer: Bosse (Karl Kurt)
Collection: Prelinger Archives
Original title: How the Ear Functions
Date: 1940
Original link: Open on Internet Archive
Rights: public_domain