How do we hear sounds in our head even though they are vibrations?
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Sound travels in through your ear canal to your eardrum, which vibrates along with the sound. This in turn causes vibrations in three bones in your middle ear. These bones basically amplify the vibrations, and are attached to a fluid filled structure in your inner ear called the cochlea.
The cochlea is split along its length by a membrane. This membrane has tiny hairs on it – depending on where they are, they will be moved up and down by different wavelengths from these vibrations. This hair movement causes other microscopic hair-like projections (known as stereocilia) to bend. When they bend, they cause little pore like channels to open up and release chemicals. These chemicals react with the cells to cause an electrical signal.
The auditory nerve sends these electrical signals to the brain. The brain then interprets these signals as different sounds.
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