In a new study, the team finds that a fossilized specimen of the extinct, 48 - million - year - old mammal Indohyus bears several telling similarities to whales, including dense limb bones for ballast and a
middle ear structure found only in the cetaceans, or sea - dwelling mammals, which is thought to help them hear underwater.
«We have long suspected that there was a connection between throat structures used for air breathing and middle -
ear structures used for hearing,» says Jennifer Clack of the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, England, who has studied related fossils.
Untreated otitis media can lead to otitis interna (inflammation of the
inner ear structures) or to rupture of an intact tympanic membrane with subsequent otorrhea or otitis externa.
Dated to more than 100,000 years old, the crania have a unique blend of features: the
internal ear structure and back - of - skull depression seen only in Neanderthals, which have never been found east of Siberia; a low and broad shape consistent with earlier East Asian hominins; and an enlarged braincase similar to other late archaic and modern humans.
However, by studying the hearing of present - day vertebrates with a
comparable ear structure, it is possible to learn about the hearing of the early terrestrial vertebrates and the development of aerial hearing.
Now that they've established the relationship
between ear structure and movement in living animals, the researchers can make predictions about the motion of extinct creatures by measuring the bony canal remnants in fossils.
It is usually the result of damage to the ear components such as the eardrum, middle or
inner ear structures, and nerves.
A team of Danish researchers from Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital and the University of Southern Denmark therefore studied the hearing of lungfish and salamanders, which have
an ear structure that is comparable to that of different kinds of early terrestrial vertebrates.
The insect, a yellow - orange - faced katydid (Copiphora gorgonensis) from Gorgona Island in Colombia, has
ear structures that are similar to the human eardrum and cochlea.
Better late than never: effective air - borne hearing of toads delayed due to late maturation of the tympanic middle
ear structures.
Younger pups tend to experience motion sickness because
the ear structures — responsible for balance — are not yet fully developed.
Some breeds are more likely to develop problems because of
their ear structure.
This surgery essentially removes
the ear structures but leaves the ear flap unchanged.
When the dog's ears itch or develop an infection and the dog scratches them excessively, small blood vessels break, causing blood to leak between the skin of the inner surface of the ear and the cartilage that forms
the ear structure.
Unless the infection is severe enough to cause pain that prevents thorough examination, the vet will likely use an instrument called an otoscope to visualize
the ear structures.
Otitis media, inflammation of the middle
ear structures, is seen in small and large domestic animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, ruminants, horses, pigs, and camelids.
Various drugs including the Aminoglycoside antibiotics can be toxic to
the ear structures and cause deafness.
Puppies are more likely to suffer from motion sickness than older dogs because of their center of balance (which is within
the ear structure) isn't fully developed.
These minutiae involved small anatomical features such as notches, nodules or creases in
the ear structure.
The phone will play sounds through the buds to scan
your ear structure, then tune the noise canceling for your personal needs.