Hearing loss in children.

Sound waves travel from the source of the sound, such as a speaker, to the outer ear. The air continues through the ear canal to the eardrum and causes it to vibrate. The vibration of the eardrum triggers the bones of the middle ear—the malleus, incus, and stapes—to move up and down; this movement creates waves in the fluid of the inner ear, or cochlea. Tiny hair cells bend in the cochlea and stimulate the auditory nerve which transmits the auditory information to the brain. A breakdown in this system results in a hearing loss.