Learning how ears work
As I was teaching my 5-year-old daughter about human senses, I decided to show her a video titled “What Are Ears and What Do They Do?” from the Kidshealth.com website, which I found very informative.
She watched the video, but I could tell that it was too much information for her. So, I chose to simplify the lesson by starting with the concept of sound waves and then gradually introduce the structures of the ear.
Sound waves
We conducted a few fun experiments and discovered that sound is transmitted via waves, similar to the ripples on the surface of water. Here’s one of the experiments we did.
We stretched a balloon over an empty yogurt container and placed a few grains of rice, flakes of oatmeal, and sugar grains on the stretched membrane. I provided my daughter with earplugs to protect her hearing. Then, we located an old kitchen pot and struck it loudly next to the balloon’s membrane. Each time we made a loud sound, the sugar, rice, and oat flakes bounced into the air.
We talked about how the stretched balloon over the yogurt container acts like an ear membrane, vibrating in response to sound waves.
Please note that the video below contains loud banging noises, so you might want to lower the volume.
Ear model
We created a model of the ear to visualize how it functions:
- I took an empty clear plastic container and removed the bottom. Then, I stretched the top part of a balloon over the container’s opening. These were the ear canal and ear drum.
- Next, I attached a picture of the outer ear to the wider side of the plastic container with tape.
- We added honey inside the plastic container to simulate earwax.
- To replicate the tiny bones inside the ear – Malleus, Incus, and Stapes we used two straws. I taped the straws together and then taped “the Malleus” side of the straw to the “ear drum.”
- I prepared a bowl of Jello and placed it on a plate. Then, I carved swirls into the Jello in a snail shell-like shape to represent the cochlea.
- I positioned the plastic container with the straws next to the plate with the Jello so that the “Stapes” side of the straw touched the Jello.
My daughter would insert her hand into the “ear canal” and push on the “eardrum.” The “bones” made of the plastic straws transferred vibrations to the “Cochlea”.
I explained the structure of the ear to my daughter, including the purpose of the ear canal, earwax, the eardrum, the three small bones between the eardrum and cochlea, as well as the role of the cochlea and how auditory messages are sent to the brain.
I intentionally avoided focusing on the terminology and complicated names of the ear. To start, I taught my daughter the term “cochlea.” I told her that if she couldn’t remember the word “cochlea,” she could call it “the snail,” which is the Latin translation of the word “cochlea.”
Afterward, we watched a video on YouTube titled “The Human Ear and Its Function – How the human ear works – Senses for Children”.
Recap and a coloring page
I really like the simplicity of this coloring page that shows the inside of a human ear. As my daughter colored, we recapped what we had learned about the ear’s structure, and I asked her questions to gauge her understanding.
We discussed ear infections in kids and how it’s important to keep your nose clean during a cold. We also talked about the significance of protecting our ears, emphasizing that loud sounds can damage our hearing. The ear membrane is very delicate, so it’s important to be mindful of any loud sounds around us.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, the famous composer, began experiencing hearing problems at the age of 30. His hearing gradually deteriorated until he became completely deaf. It’s believed that he used a pencil, holding one end in his mouth and placing the other end against a musical instrument to feel the vibrations of the piano.
A couple of months ago, my daughter and I listened to Beethoven’s renowned 9th Symphony, ‘Ode to Joy.’ Remarkably, the composer wrote this masterpiece while being deaf and couldn’t hear the applause when it was first presented to the public.