What is eardrum?

What Does eardrum Mean

A Greek word came to Latin as tympănum and then to Castilian as tympanum . The concept is often used to name the membrane found in the middle ear of vertebrate animals, separating this sector from the external auditory canal .

This thin, elastic membrane thus serves as communication between the middle ear and the external auditory canal. Its outer face is covered with skin , while the inner face is covered with the mucosa that belongs to the middle ear. The insertion of the hammer bone causes the eardrum to have a somewhat conical shape.
When air enters the external auditory canal, the eardrum vibrates , transmitting its movement to the middle ear through a series of bones. In this way, the pressure change is transformed into a mechanical movement.

Notably, the eardrum can be ruptured by an explosion. This injury can cause temporary hearing problems, vertigo, and ringing until recovery is achieved.
A foreign object lodged in the ear, a virulent infection, a sudden change in pressure or even a strong blow are some of the situations that can also lead to a ruptured eardrum. And this will be manifested, in addition to a buzzing, by severe pain in that area of ​​the head, by a loss of listening ability and even because they take place what are secretions, either pus or blood.
Taking medicine or placing warm compresses on the ear are some of the measures that can be taken to deal with this complex health situation. However, based on the severity of it, the doctor can establish other measures in favor of effective treatment such as the start of myringoplasty or tympanoplasty.
Tympanum is also a name that different musical instruments can receive, such as the drum and the timpani . There is even a type of instrument made up of glass strips placed on strings called the eardrum.
In the field of architecture , the space located between the arch or archivolts of a façade and the lintel is known as the tympanum . In addition, the tympanum can be the sector located inside the pediment .
The eardrums, common in different periods of Egyptian, Greek, Islamic and Christian architecture, are usually decorated with reliefs representing different kinds of religious or mythological scenes.
Within the artistic and architectural field, we have to point out in particular several monuments that have managed to stand out, in addition to other things, for their eardrums. Specifically, among the most significant are the following:

-The Cathedral of Strasbourg, which has one underlined and accentuated by a beautiful set of archivolts.

-The Pantheon of Rome, which surprises with the originality of its decoration.

-The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which marvels for the fascinating eardrums it has on its main facade.

-The Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, which has a spectacular high relief tympanum made in bronze.

-The Church of San Pedro Apóstol in Vitoria, in whose tympanum scenes of San Pedro and the Virgin Mary appear.

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