Some facts about the ears

• Our ears make it possible for us to hear. Having two ears lets us know from what direction a sound is coming. 
• Our ears help us keep our balance.
• A person's ear has three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. 
• The outer ear is the part we see. It catches sound waves and sends them through a tube to the eardrum. The eardrum is a thin sheet of skin stretched tight. 
• Just inside the eardrum, in the middle ear, are three tiny bones—the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. These little bones carry the sounds on to the inner ear. There nerves pick up the sound messages and carry them to the brain. The nerve endings are in a part of the ear shaped like a snail shell. Near by are three horseshoe-shaped tubes filled with fluid. These tubes are called the semicircular canals. Our ears help us keep our balance by means of them.
• The Eustachian tube leads from the middle ear to the throat. Air can reach the middle ear through it.
• Many other animals have ears, but some of their ears are very different from ours. 
• Birds have no outer ears. The openings into a bird's ears are hidden by feathers. 
• The ears of frogs and toads show as big circles of skin just back of their eyes.
• Crickets are among the few insects with ears. Their ears are on their front legs.
• Some animals can hear better than we do. Dogs, for instance, can hear sounds too high for us to hear.