RT Book, Section A1 Oghalai, John S. A1 Brownell, William E. A2 Lalwani, Anil K. SR Print(0) ID 1169078503 T1 Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear T2 Current Diagnosis & Treatment Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, 4e YR 2020 FD 2020 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071847643 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1169078503 RD 2024/04/20 AB Mechanical events resulting from sound, gravitational forces, and rotational acceleration are detected by the cochlea and vestibular organs within the inner ear. Sound is a mechanical vibration (eg, as produced by a vibrating piano string). This vibration sets up small oscillations of air molecules that, in turn, cause adjacent molecules to oscillate as the sound propagates away from its source. Sound is called a pressure wave because when the molecules of air come closer together, the pressure increases (compression); as they move further apart, the pressure decreases (rarefaction).