INNER EAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does inner ear mean? 

• INNER EAR (noun)
  The noun INNER EAR has 1 sense:

1. a complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibrium

  Familiarity information: INNER EAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INNER EAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibrium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

inner ear; internal ear; labyrinth

Hypernyms ("inner ear" is a kind of...):

receptor; sense organ; sensory receptor (an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation)

Meronyms (parts of "inner ear"):

neuroepithelium (epithelium associated with special sense organs and containing sensory nerve endings)

membranous labyrinth (the sensory structures of the inner ear including the labyrinthine receptors and the cochlea; contained within the bony labyrinth)

bony labyrinth; osseous labyrinth (cavity in the petrous part of the temporal bone that contains the membranous labyrinth)

endolymph (the bodily fluid that fills the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear)

perilymph (the bodily fluid that fills the space between the bony labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear)

semicircular canal (one of three tube loops filled with fluid and in planes nearly at right angles with one another; concerned with equilibrium)

cochlea (the snail-shaped tube (in the inner ear coiled around the modiolus) where sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses by the organ of Corti)

artery of the labyrinth; internal auditory artery; labyrinthine artery (an artery that is a branch of the basilar artery that supplies the labyrinth)

internal auditory vein; labyrinthine vein (veins that drain the inner ear)

Holonyms ("inner ear" is a part of...):

auditory apparatus (all of the components of the organ of hearing including the outer and middle and inner ears)

 Context examples 

The other kind happens when sound waves cannot reach your inner ear.

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

Partial or complete loss of the ability to detect or understand sounds resulting from damage to the outer, middle, or inner ear structures.

(Hearing Impairment, NCI Thesaurus)

It is typically associated with impairment of the inner ear.

(High Frequency Hearing Loss, NCI Thesaurus)

FGF3 constitutes a signal for induction of the otic vesicle, the primordium of the inner ear.

(Fibroblast Growth Factor 3, NCI Thesaurus)

Any component pertaining to the organ for hearing including the external, middle, and inner ear.

(Ear Part, NCI Thesaurus)

The inner ear also controls balance.

(Ear Disorders, NIH)

A viral or bacterial infection that affects the external, middle, or inner ear.

(Ear Infection, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-neoplastic or neoplastic disorder affecting the inner ear.

(Inner Ear Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear.

(Meniere's Disease, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

They can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss.

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