EARDRUM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does eardrum mean? 

• EARDRUM (noun)
  The noun EARDRUM has 1 sense:

1. the membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound

  Familiarity information: EARDRUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EARDRUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

eardrum; myringa; tympanic membrane; tympanum

Hypernyms ("eardrum" is a kind of...):

membrane; tissue layer (a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants)

Meronyms (parts of "eardrum"):

umbo (a slight rounded elevation where the malleus attaches to the eardrum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "eardrum"):

perforated eardrum (an eardrum with a hole or tear in it; can interfere with normal hearing and cause other ear problems)

Holonyms ("eardrum" is a part of...):

ear (the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium)

 Context examples 

The part of the ear including the eardrum and ossicles.

(Middle Ear, NCI Thesaurus)

A surgical procedure where an incision is made through the eardrum, and a plastic or metal tube is inserted.

(Myringotomy with Ear Tube Placement, NCI Thesaurus)

Earwax build-up, fluid, or a punctured eardrum can cause it.

(Hearing Disorders and Deafness, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

They reach your middle ear, where they make your eardrum vibrate.

(Ear Disorders, NIH)

Both contained the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and chemical permeation enhancers, which help the drug get across the eardrum into the middle ear.

(Developing novel ear infection treatments, NIH)

The three small bones in the middle ear that transmit acoustic vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear.

(Auditory Ossicle, NCI Thesaurus)

Surgical incision into the eardrum.

(Myringotomy, NCI Thesaurus)

It may lead to numerous complications, such as pseudomediastinum (air trapped in the chest between both lungs), perforation of the tympanic membrane (perforated eardrum), and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm (ballooning blood vessel in the brain), they explain.

(Blocking A Sneeze, Man Ruptures Throat, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Chinchillas with an ear infection caused by Haemophilus influenza received antibiotics through one of the gels or via liquid drops placed directly onto the eardrum.

(Developing novel ear infection treatments, NIH)