Question

How is the ear related to balance?

Answer 1

The inner ear includes the cochlea and the semicircular canals. The snail-shaped cochlea changes the vibrations from the middle ear into nerve signals. The brain interprets these signals and sends messages to the muscles that help keep you balanced.

Answer 2

The ear is related to balance because the semi circular canals are located inside your ear which are responsible for maintaining your balance These three semicircular canals are set up like a gyroscope and can detect body movement. With such changes, endolymph waves within the canals cause hair cells located within their base to move. Position of the head is sensed by hair cells of the utricle and saccule which is stimulated when the head moves and the relationship to gravity changes. There is a small dense area of nerve fibers called the macule located in each of the saccule and utricle. The macule of the saccule is oriented vertically while the utricle macule is horizontal. Each macule consists of fine hair bundles which are covered by an otolithic membrane that is jelly-like and covered by a blanket of calcium crystals.
The calcium crystals are the structures that ultimately stimulate the position hairs and provoke nerve impulses created by the position changes and transmit that information to the brain stem and cerebellum.