What role do vibrations play in hearing?

Vibrations play a crucial role in the process of hearing by being collected and transmitted to the brain for interpretation. When sound is produced, it creates vibrations in the air (or in another medium) that travel as sound waves.

These vibrations enter the ear, where they are funneled through the outer ear and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then relayed through the tiny bones in the middle ear to the cochlea, a fluid-filled structure in the inner ear. Inside the cochlea, hair cells convert the mechanical vibrations into electrical signals.

These electrical signals are then sent via the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are interpreted as sounds. This entire process illustrates how essential vibrations are for hearing, as they are the initial stimuli that our auditory system detects and processes.

In contrast, the other options do not relate to the function of vibrations in hearing. Light waves relate to vision rather than sound, and while chemical reactions in the brain do occur in response to various stimuli, they are not a direct role of vibrations in the hearing process. Similarly, vibrations are not absorbed by the skin; rather, they are a necessary component of sound detection.