Middle ear ear and throat. The primary function of the middle ear is to efficiently transfer acoustic energy from compression waves in air to fluid–membrane waves within the cochlea. The middle ear contains three tiny bones known as the ossicles: "malleus", "incus", and "stapes". The ossicles were given their Latin names for their distinctive shapes; they are also referred to as the "hammer", "anvil", and "stirrup", respectively. The ossicles directly couple sound energy from the ear drum to the oval window of the cochlea. While the stapes is present in all tetrapods, the malleus and incus evolved from lower and upper jaw
The Third Ear (book) The Third Ear (book) The Third Ear is a book by Chris Lonsdale analyzing human attitudes towards language learning with an emphasis on the habits of polyglots. Starting as a native English speaker, this summary of their habits is coupled with his own experience of learning two Chinese languages, namely Mandarin and Cantonese. It was released in January 2006 and reprinted in April 2007. "The Third Ear" begins with an introduction, that is followed by three sections. The introduction challenges the myth that language learning is “difficult” and outlines the way in which Lonsdale believes readers should use the book.