Contrary to popular belief, I do have a life outside of school.

However, your assumption that I have a problem is correct.

I just came from Dr. Conway.

Is he your nemesis?

Uh, no, he's my audiologist-- a doctor who specializes in hearing.

My hearing is impaired.

Impaired?

What does that mean?

It means that I'm not hearing as well as I once did.

Close your eyes and imagine we are inside an ear.

You might think that all hearing takes place right here, but this is just the outer ear.

Let's follow a sound and see what happens.

(ding) The sound goes down into the ear canal.

What's this squishy stuff?

That must be ear wax.

Ooh, let's make a candle!

RATBURN: No fires in the ear, please.

It really isn't wax.

It's actually cerumen, a substance the ear makes to help clean and protect it.

Oh!

Can I keep it?

No, you have plenty in your own ears.

(ding) Come along!

Sound hits the eardrum and causes it to vibrate.

(rumbling) (voices vibrating): Ah... My t-t-teeth are f-f-feeling loose.

W-w-what's happening on the other side?

When the ear drum vibrates, it moves these three tiny bones: the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup.

They help carry the sound into the inner ear, which we'll look at now.

The sound vibrations make those hairs move, and that information is taken to the brain, where it is translated as an identifiable sound.

BRAIN: Why is that patch bare over there?

RATBURN: Because that's where I've lost some of my hearing.

We better get back.

My tea's getting cold.