Life sounds beautiful.

1. 1The outer ear gathers soundSound waves enter the outer ear and travel through a narrow passageway, the ear canal, to the eardrum.
2. 2The eardrum vibratesIncoming sound waves make the eardrum vibrate. It passes those vibrations to three tiny bones in the middle ear.
3. 3Three tiny bones amplifyThe malleus, incus and stapes amplify the vibrations and send them on to the cochlea in the inner ear.
4. 4The cochlea turns waves into signalsInside the snail-shaped, fluid-filled cochlea, tiny hair cells ride a traveling wave. Cells near the wide end pick up high pitches, like a baby crying; cells near the center pick up low pitches, like a big dog barking.
5. 5The brain makes sense of itThe hair cells create an electrical signal. The auditory nerve carries it to the brain, which turns it into sound we recognize and understand.

Source: NIDCD, How Do We Hear? (opens an external website)