4.1 Anatomy: The Ear.

This section will give you a good understanding of the key parts of the ear and how the anatomy and physiology is impacted by Sound Therapy. It explains the science behind Tomatis’s premise that the ear is an active participant, not a passive receptor of sound.

We will explore:

• The outer ear and ear drum, their structure and role in our hearing perception
• The parts of the middle ear, and its important role as a conductor of sound
• The middle ear muscles and their crucial role as tuners and feedback mechanism to the middle ear
• The Eustachian tube and how a common, chronic but unrecognised malfunction of its muscles causes extensive discomfort and suffering through misdiagnosis
• The inner ear, and organ or corti, core of our auditory perception process, its remarkable decoding ability and links to the whole auditory pathway
• The vestibular system and its complex feedback mechanisms for perception of balance and movement
• The cranial nerves, and how their interactions show that the ear is intrinsically linked into the heart of our nervous system
• Recent neurophysiological discoveries which confirm the ear’s key role in the integration of our nervous system