What keeps our balance the ears or the eyes?

Answer 1

Hi!!
It is the ears...

Five Sections of the Hearing Mechanism

Outer ear
Middle ear
Inner ear
Acoustic nerve
Brain' s auditory processing centers.

The outer ear consists of the pinna, or auricle and the ear canal ( external auditory meatus ). The pinna - the "ear" that we see on each side of our heads - is made of cartilage and soft tissue so that it maintains a particular shape but is also pliable. The pinna serves as a collector of sound vibrations around us and funnels the vibrations into the ear canal. It assists us in determining the direction and source of sound.

The ear canal is about an inch long and ¼ inch in diameter. It extends from the pinna to the eardrum ( tympanic membrane ). The outer foundation of the ear canal is cartilage covered with skin that contains hairs and glands that secrete wax ( cerumen ). The hairs and wax help to prevent foreign bodies, such as insects or dust, from entering the ear canal. Near the eardrum ( tympanic membrane ), the wall of the ear canal becomes bony and covered tightly by skin.

The middle ear begins with the eardrum at the end of the ear canal. The middle ear contains three tiny bones called the ossicles . These three bones form a connection from the eardrum to the inner ear. As sound waves hit the eardrum, it moves back and forth causing the ossicles to move. Thus the sound wave is changed to a mechanical vibration.

The first bone, the hammer ( malleus ) is connected to the eardrum. The hammer connects to the second ossicle, the anvil ( incus ), and then the anvil connects to the third bone, the stirrup ( stapes ). The mechanical energy transmitted through the three bones ( ossicular chain ) causes the in-and-out movement of the base of the stirrup ( stapes footplate ) in patterns that match those of the incoming sound waves. The stapes footplate fits into the oval window, the beginning point of the inner ear.

The middle ear is located in the mastoid section of the temporal bone (a skull bone on each side of the head) and is filled with air. A tube called the eustachian tube runs from the front wall of the middle ear down to the back of the nose and throat (the nasopharynx ). This tube provides ventilation and access to outside air and equalizes air pressure on both sides of the eardrum -- the middle ear side and the outer ear side. We are aware of the eustachian tube at work when we feel air pressure changing in our ears as we yawn, chew, or swallow.

Because of the facial and skull structure of children, the eustachian tube is in a rather flat position between the middle ear and the nasopharynx rather than in the downward slanting position from the middle ear to the nasopharynx in adults. The flat positioning of the tube in children creates risk for infection traveling from the nasopharynx into the middle ear.

The inner ear contains the sensory organs for hearing and balance. The cochlea is the hearing part of the inner ear. The semicircular canals , the utricle and the saccule are the balance part of the inner ear.

The cochlea is a bony structure shaped like a snail and filled with fluid ( endolymph and perilymph ). The Organ of Corti is the sensory receptor inside the cochlea which holds the hair cells , the nerve receptors for hearing.

The mechanical energy from movement of the middle ear bones pushes in a membrane ( the oval window ) in the cochlea. This force moves the cochlea's fluids that, in turn, stimulate tiny hair cells. Individual hair cells respond to specific sound frequencies (pitches) so that, depending on the pitch (frequency) of the sound, only certain hair cells are stimulated.

Signals from these hair cells are translated into nerve impulses. The nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain by the cochlear portion of the acoustic nerve (VIII cranial nerve).

The acoustic nerve carries impulses from the cochlea to a relay station in the mid-brain, the cochlear nucleus, and on to other brain pathways that end in the auditory cortex of the brain. At the cochlear nucleus, nerve fibers from each ear divide into two pathways. One pathway ascends straight to the auditory cortex on one side (hemisphere) of the brain. The other pathway crosses over and ascends to the auditory cortex on the other side (hemisphere) of the brain. As a result, each hemisphere of the brain receives information from both ears.

The central auditory system deals with the processing of auditory information as it is carried up to the brain. Central auditory processes are the auditory processes responsible for the following behaviors:

Sound localization and lateralization
Auditory discrimination (hearing the differences between different sounds)
Recognizing patterns of sounds
Time aspects of hearing (temporal aspects of audition): temporal resolution, temporal masking, temporal integration, temporal ordering
Reduction in auditory performance in the presence of competing acoustic signals
Reduction in auditory performance in the presence of degraded (less than complete) acoustic signals
Balance

Balance, or one' s sense of equilibrium, is controlled through the vestibular system that is also contained in the inner ear. The vestibular organs share the temporal bone space with the cochlea. These organs also share the same fluid that is in the cochlea.

Balance and equilibrium help us stay erect when standing, know where we are in relation to gravity, and help us walk, run, and move without falling. The functioning of the vestibular system depends on information from many systems, hearing as well as vision and muscle feedback.

The vestibular system consists of three semicircular canals , the utricle , and the saccule . Each of the semicircular canals lies anatomically in a different plane, each plane at a right angle to each other. Thus, each deals with different movement: up and down, side to side, and tilting from one side to the other. All contain sensory hair cells that are activated by movement of inner ear fluid (endolymph). As the head moves, hair cells in the semicircular canals send nerve impulses to the brain by way of the vestibular portion of the acoustic nerve (VIII cranial nerve). These nerve impulses are processed in the stem of the brain and in the brain's cerebellum.

The ends of the semicircular canals connect with the utricle, and the utricle connects with the saccule. While the semicircular canals provide information about movement of the head, the sensory hair cells of the utricle and saccule provide information to the brain (again through the vestibular portion of the acoustic nerve) about head position when it is not moving.

Answer 2

Ears- to be pecise: the inner ear. It consists of a structure of called cochlea which contains a fluid which maintains our balance. That's why if u spin around, the fluid starts moving to causing u to lose balance.
Hmmm.... The vision starts becoming a bit blurred too. So I guess, both are responsible for it.

Answer 3

Technically both work hand-in-hand (rather eye-and-ear).

Balance and coordination depend on the interaction of multiple systems working together. The primary systems including the vestibular system (inner ear), visual (movements of the eyes), and proprioception (commonly referred to as your touch and feel sense). The central nervous system, primarily the brain stem and cerebellum, provides the central processing for the three sensory input systems into one coordinated event, allowing for one output of responses, balanced and coordinated.

The vestibular system (inner ear) is also called the labyrinth, which monitors our directions of motions during: turning, moving forward-backward, side-to-side, and up-and-down. The inner ear contains two individual organs for balance:

(1) the utricle, made up of macula and saccule and (2) a set of three semicircular canals.

For further information read: http://www.earsoftexas.com/howba_lworks.htm

Answer 4

EARS - to be precise: the inner ear. It consists of a structure of called cochlea which contains a fluid which maintains our balance. That's why if u spin around, the fluid starts moving to causing you to lose balance.

Answer 5

There is fluid in our ears that help keep our balance.

Answer 6

our ears keeps our balance, that is the reason why some who have ear problems experience vertigo.

Answer 7

both probably.
the sense of balance is siutated in the inner ear, but sight helps with orientation

Answer 8

The nerve that connects from the brain to the ear canal...oh!..and it helps to have both feet firmly on the ground !!

Answer 9

the ears

Answer 10

Our ears.