Cochlea to structures in the brainstem for further processing. The "stapes" (stirrup) ossicle bone of the middle ear transmits vibrations to the "fenestra ovalis" (oval window) on the outside of the cochlea, which vibrates the perilymph in the "vestibular duct" (upper chamber of the cochlea). The ossicles are essential for efficient coupling of sound waves into the cochlea, since the cochlea environment is a fluid–membrane system, and it takes more pressure to move sound through fluid–membrane waves than it does through air; a pressure increase is achieved by the area ratio of the tympanic membrane to the oval window, resulting in
Jock Stirrup was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to "The Guardian" opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In June 2015 Stirrup joined the House of Lords' EU External Affairs Sub-Committee. From October 2015 Stirrup has been the president of the Pilgrims Society. On Remembrance Sunday 2014, it was announced that Stirrup would lead the efforts to raise one million pounds to enable a national memorial to the British service personnel who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to be erected in central London. By March 2015 Stirrup was confident that the