How We Hear

Looking Around 2 — About Me. Our ears and senses are part of the "About Me" unit on the body and its five senses.

• We hear sounds with our ears.
• Sound travels through the air and enters our ear, making a thin part inside called the ear drum vibrate.
• Very loud sounds can hurt our ears, so we protect them.
• Some animals, like dogs, can hear sounds that humans cannot.

Verbal: Sound enters the ear and makes the ear drum (a thin, stretched part inside) vibrate. This vibration is how we sense sound.

Symbolic: Sound (air vibration) -> enters ear -> ear drum vibrates -> we hear.

Level 1 — Ears help us hear

We use our two ears to hear sounds around us.

Level 1 — Protecting our ears

Cover your ears near very loud sounds like fireworks; never put sharp or small objects inside your ear.

Level 2 — The ear drum

Sound makes a thin part inside the ear, called the ear drum, vibrate — this is the first step in hearing.

Level 2 — India

Covering ears during a loud Diwali cracker burst, or during a loud dhol at a wedding procession, protects our hearing.

Why do people cover their ears near bursting firecrackers?

Step 1 — Firecrackers make a sudden, very loud sound.
Step 2 — Loud sound close to the ear can hurt the ear drum.
Step 3 — Covering ears blocks some of the sound and protects them.
Answer: We cover our ears to protect them from loud, sudden sounds.

• Which body part do we use to hear sounds?
• Why should we cover our ears near a bursting cracker?
• Name one thing we should never put inside our ears.

Stretch: Ask an elder why doctors check children's ears carefully. Share what you learn.

Revision tip: For one day, notice one loud sound and one soft sound, and how your ears reacted to each.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on How We Hear.