At February’s meeting of The Ladder, we learned all about hearing and ears: inner and outer parts of the ear, how sound travels through our ears so we can hear it, how to find out if something’s wrong in an ear, and how to see inside an ear.

At one station medical scholars Stephen and Ashawna tell medical scholar Kacia what they’ve learned about anatomy of the ear and how sound travels through the ear:

Learning how sounds travel through the ear

At another station focused on diagnosing problems in the ear, medical scholar Ahmed points out which photo shows a normal ear canal, and which photo displays an ear canal with a benign (aka mostly harmless) osteoma (a bony or cartilage growth):

Diagnosing an osteoma of the external auditory canal

Medical scholars Ashawna and Halima demonstrate how hearing tests are conducted:

Hearing test demostration

Medical scholars learn how to use an otoscope to view the external auditory canal and ear drum (aka tympanic membrane):

Learning to use an otoscope

Medical scholars Ashawna and Stephen team up to demonstrate how a tuning folk can be used to test hearing function as well:

Is this for real? Sure is.

Medical Scholar Renee taught us about the many different health care professionals (any of which you could be!) who help diagnose and fix problems with your ears:

• ENT physicians (aka otolaryngologists)
• anesthesiologists
• primary care physicians
• nurses
• health care assistants
• pharmacists

You can be a part of the learning and fun every month at The Ladder – a Society of Medical Scholars ages 9 to 99. Meetings are the second Saturday of every month and open to anyone and everyone. You’ll have a lot of fun, get a free lunch, and probably even learn something in the process! The next meeting (on dentistry!) is March 8th at the UROC building (2001 Plymouth Ave N) in North Minneapolis.

“Lift as you Climb, Build as you Grow”