Page 98 - Design in Nature

"It is He who has created hearing, sight

and hearts for you. What little thanks

you show!"

(Surat al-Muminun: 78)

THE TRAVELLING OF THE SOUND FROM EAR TO BRAIN
The ear is such a complex wonder of design that it alone nullifies the explanations of
the theory of evolution in regards to a creation based on "coincidence". The hearing process
in the ear is made possible by a completely irreducibly complex system. Sound waves are
first collected by the auricle (1) and then hit the eardrum (2). This sets the bones in the
middle ear (3) vibrating. Thus sound waves are translated into mechanical vibrations,
which vibrate the so-called "oval window" (4), which in turn sets the fluid inside the
cochlea (5) in motion. Here, the mechanical vibrations are transformed into nerve impulses
which travel to the brain through the vestibular nerves (6).
There is an extremely complex mechanism inside the cochlea. The cochlea (enlarged
figure in the middle) has some canals (7), which are filled with fluid. The cochlear canal (8)
contains the "organ of corti" (9) (enlarged figure on far right), which is the sense organ of
hearing. This organ is composed of "hair cells" (10). The vibrations in the fluid of the
cochlea are transmitted to these cells through the basilar membrane (11), on which the
organ of corti is situated. There are two types of hair cells, inner hair cells (12a) and outer
hair cells (12b). Depending on the frequencies of the incoming sound, these hair cells