We all know that our eyes are our windows to the world. But what about our ears? They are as important as any other body part.
Ears are one of the most important organs in your body. They help you hear and balance yourself. The ear also has a critical role to play in maintaining brain health by filtering out noise pollution. Read on to find out why ears are important.
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15 Benefits Of Ear In Our Bodies
Hearing, one of our most essential senses, enables us to connect to the world for a variety of reasons.
The ability to hear is not only essential for our survival but also our mental development. In the absence of hearing, we would be unable to express ourselves in a way that none of our other senses can accomplish. Hearing connects us to others, allowing us to communicate in ways that no other sense may do. And ears are crucial for hearing.
1. Ears Gather Sounds
The hearing or auditory sense is our sensitivity to sound waves. These sound waves are transferred through the ear and received by the brain.
Human ears gather sound and noise and direct them to our brains so we can interpret and comprehend what we hear. They provide us with the ability to be aware of our surroundings at all times. It gives us a sense of safety and security.
A healthy ear is capable of day-to-day activities such as talking, listening to music, watching television, and even going out in noisy areas. It can expose you to different sounds through your surroundings while keeping you safe from harm’s way.
2. Ears Help Maintain Balance
Our inner ears are responsible for our sense of balance and equilibrium. The imbalance of ear fluids can cause dizziness or nausea.
The inner ear is a complex device made up of three small bones called ossicles, fluid-filled chambers, and a snail shell-shaped organ called the cochlea. The function of these parts together is to maintain equilibrium in the body.
3. Ears Filter Out Noise Pollution
Sound waves travel through our ears to get translated into nerve impulses in the brain. These impulses are then interpreted by our brains as sound. If you’ve ever felt noise-induced hearing loss, it could be due to how loud your surroundings are or because of an injury you sustained over time. Ears also aid to overcome disturbing noises.
Exposure to loud noise can potentially cause damage to the sensitive parts of our ears. If you are working in a factory or even at home with machinery, protect your ears by wearing earplugs or earmuffs.
4. Ear Wax Has A Purpose
Ear wax, also known as cerumen, is secreted by glands in the ear canal. It locks foreign particles out of the ear canal by effectively coating it with its sticky nature. The purpose of this substance is to trap any harmful or irritating objects before they can cause damage to the inner walls of the ear.
More than that, it also prevents dryness and itching in the ear canal by producing an oily substance known as sebum oil. It moisturizes the skin inside our ears to keep it soft, healthy, and hydrated.
Related Video – How the Ears Work:
5. Ear Wax Helps Fight Infection
Just like your skin, the skin on your outer ear can become infected by microorganisms. But aside from keeping the skin in your ear moist, wax also helps fight off infection-causing microbes when mixed with sweat or sebum oil.
Ear wax works together with other defense systems to protect our ears from bacterial infections and outer ear diseases such as eczema. It prevents harmful substances from penetrating the skin of the ear canal, effectively safeguarding us from foreign agents.
6. Ears Usually Self-Clean!
Earwax is sticky by design, so it will trap dust and other objects and protect your ears. Consider your earwax as a barrier between your ears and the rest of the world. It’s a self-cleaning agent that repels dust, dirt, and other substances from entering your ears.
We don’t have to worry about cleaning our ears or worry that hair may be growing in them. The ear canal, located on the inner part of the ear is self-cleaning so there’s no need to use Q-tips.
7. Ear Aids The Hearing Process
Sound waves enter the ear and travel through the canal until it reaches the eardrum. The sound waves cause vibrations in the eardrum that then lead to a process called transduction, which is when these vibrations are converted into nerve signals.
The auditory or ear nerve carries these electrical impulses from the inner ear to our brain where it gets interpreted as sound. If our ears fail to function properly, we may suffer from hearing impairment or encounter the inability to hear sounds at all.
8. Ears Can’t Fix Damaged Hearing Processes
Although hearing loss can occur without any injury, this is not true for other ear disorders. Many types of ear diseases can be treated with medications and surgery, but certain medical conditions cannot be fully cured.
For instance, tinnitus or ringing in the ears is a condition caused by a disruption in the regular flow of electricity between neurons. So even if your ears have been healed from an ear infection or any other injury, you can still suffer from tinnitus.
9. Ears Aware You Of Your Surroundings
Ears are vital to your sense of balance. They help you recognize the position and movement of your body, including which way it’s facing or if it has been pushed or pulled in a certain direction.
The implications of your actions can be positive or negative depending on how you see your surroundings. Even slight changes to your surroundings can be detected through our ears. They also become extremely sensitive when you are under pressure or stress to help you properly respond to these situations. It becomes crucial for your safety because you can’t escape danger if you don’t even notice there is one at all.
10. Ears Are As Valuable As Your Eyes
If you can see or hear, then that means your ears are still working normally. Although people with impaired sight tend to need their ears more than those who can see properly, they both play a vital role in our life.
If your eyes cannot give you the full picture, then it’s your job to rely on your hearing. That way, you’ll be able to learn and fully understand any given situation that unfolds before us.
11. Ears Are Important For Safety
Ears play a huge role in our life because they help us understand our surroundings and communicate with others. They are the only organ that allows us to not just hear sounds, but also interpret them in many ways. People who are partially or entirely deaf will have a difficult time understanding their surroundings.
So if you value your life and the people around you, then do everything you can to keep your ears healthy. You owe it to yourself because without them, there is no other organ that can provide us with the information we need to survive in this world.
12. Ears Are More Sensitive Than Eyes
Ears can help us perceive and understand our surroundings better than any other organ, including the eyes and the brain.
Ears are considered more sensitive than eyes. If you can’t recognize changes in your surroundings through your ears, then it is hard for your eyes and brain to process them as well.
13. Ears Cannot Be Impaired Without Neurological Damage
The ear is a vital organ that we need to fully function throughout our lives. It has no duplicate, so if one ear gets impaired or damaged, you’ll become partially deaf.
Hearing loss can be caused by damage to the inner ear, which is responsible for converting sound waves into electrical signals. But it’s also possible for hearing loss to happen without any injury at all, like when there’s something wrong with your auditory nerve or brain.
14. Ears Are Essential For Effective Communication
Communication is a two-way process by ensuring that both ends of the conversation are clear. And ears help you do that effectively.
Without the proper signals being sent to our brains, we won’t be able to process and interpret what is going on around us. Even if you do not rely heavily on your sense of hearing, it still plays a part in how we understand each other and interact with those around us.
Listening intently to people speaking allows them to feel they are being talked to and not ignored. It indicates how much value you give to the people around you.
15. Ears Never Take A Day Off!
Even if you’re asleep, your ears are always listening. You can never turn them off. However, even though you are sleeping, the brain does not react to noises in the same way that it would while you are awake.
Your ears are always hearing and interpreting sound, whether you’re awake or asleep, no matter what your state is.
Importance Of Ears – Conclusion
We can’t ignore the significant role played by ears, which are an essential part of how humans receive information.
Ears allow us to understand our surroundings better than any other organ or body part. They also help us communicate effectively with those around us, making them a vital part of our lives.
References
- https://enticare.com/2020/02/15/the-role-of-ears-in-the-balance-system/#:~:text=Many%20structures%20in%20the%20inner,%2C%20and%20sense%20gravity%2C%20too.
- https://www.rchsd.org/health-safety/growing-up-columns/earwax-is-natures-defense-against-objects-and-infections/#:~:text=Earwax%20also%20acts%20as%20a,infections%20from%20entering%20the%20body.
- https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/teach-me/earwax-three-reasons-to-put-down-the-cotton-swab#:~:text=Your%20ear%20doesn’t%20need,when%20there%20is%20an%20excess.
- https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/ears-nose-and-throat/tinnitus#:~:text=Tinnitus%20is%20the%20term%20for,humming
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