15 March 2016 â¢ 2:25pm. The death of an American tourist in a horrific lion attack in South Africa in the summer of 2015 was a stark reminder of the dangers that can be posed by wildlife. But while terrifying, attacks by lions on humans are quite rare. Fewer than 100 people are killed by lions each year.
Some of the middle ear structures may be seen through an especially transparent ear drum, while the inner ear may be evaluated only by CT scans, MRI scans or indirectly by special testing, such as audiometry (hearing tests) or other special tests of inner ear function.
The air space of the middle ear connects to the back of the nose by the Eustachian tube. The inner ear is made up of two components. The cochlea is involved with hearing. The vestibular system helps with balance. The cochlea is a snail-shaped chamber filled with fluid. It is lined with special sensory cells called hair cells. These cells transform sound waves into electrical signals.