inner ear

American  

noun

1. internal ear.

---

inner ear British  

noun

1. another name for internal ear labyrinth

---

inner ear Scientific  

/ ĭn′ər /

1. The innermost part of the ear in many vertebrate animals, consisting of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the vestibule. Sound vibrations are transmitted from the cochlea of the inner ear to the brain by the auditory nerve. The semicircular canals and the vestibule are the body's organs of balance.

2. See more at ear

---

inner ear Cultural  

1. The part of the ear, located deep within the skull, where sound vibrations are converted to electrical signals and sent to the brain via the auditory nerve to produce the sensation of hearing. Organs related to balance are also located in the inner ear.

---

Etymology

Origin of inner ear

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

This technique records electrical activity between the inner ear and the brain using small electrodes placed on the animals while short bursts of sound are played through a small loudspeaker.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

The DNA was taken from a bone in the inner ear of remains of a man buried in Nuwayrat, a village 265km south of Cairo.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025

Over 18 months, experts there extracted and sequenced ancient DNA from two dire wolf fossils — a 13,000-year-old tooth from Sheridan Pit, Ohio, and a 72,000-year-old inner ear bone from American Falls, Idaho.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2025

It’s the type IV collagen in the basement membrane of my cochlea, or inner ear, that is abnormal and contributes to sensorineural hearing loss.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2024

However, musically, it is quite advanced in that as you gradually silence the letter of the word B-I-N-G-O, the brain compensates for the missing pitch and rhythm using the inner ear.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin