Explain how the mechanism for hearing in the cochlea is similar to the mechanism for balance in the maculae.

The ear is the organ of both hearing and equilibrium. Hearing is the transduction of sound waves into a neural signal that relies on the structures of the ear. The ear is subdivided into 3 major parts: the external ear, middle ear, and internal ear. The outwardly visible structure that is often referred to as the ear is more correctly referred to as the outer ear (external ear), or the auricle. The C-shaped curves of the auricle direct sound waves towards the ear canal, which enters into the skull through the external auditory meatus of the temporal bone. At the end of the auditory canal (sometimes caused external acoustic meatus) is the tympanic membrane, or ear drum, which vibrates with the movement of air in sound waves.