Your ears gather sound waves which cause the eardrum and tiny bones in the middle ear to vibrate, pumping fluid in the inner ear where hair cells transmit electrical signals along the auditory nerve to the brain. The outer ear funnels sound into the ear canal to the eardrum, then three tiny middle ear bones attached to each other and the inner ear transmit the vibrations, causing fluid waves in the cochlea that move hair cells to send signals to the brain for interpretation as sound. Hearing problems can occur at any stage from nerve damage to ear canal blockages affecting the eardrum's vibrations.