Well, actually, your ears are responsible for much more than just hearing.

事實上，我們的耳朵的用處不只有聽覺而已。

In fact, they can even help you taste.

耳朵其實有助我們的味覺。

And that's all thanks to what's inside.

這歸功於我們耳朵的內部結構。

We think of ears as these flappy appendages that stick out of our heads.

大家想到耳朵，大概想到只長在頭部上的附屬物。

But the most important structures are actually on the inside, and they're known as the inner and middle ear.

不過最重要的是裡面的結構，也就是內耳和中耳。

Inside your middle ear is the nerve that moves the muscles of your face.

你的中耳裡負責控制臉部肌肉的神經。

Aka, the facial nerve.

亦稱顏面神經。

And if it becomes inflamed or injured, say, from a nasty ear infection, you can lose control of the muscles in your face.

倘若裡面發炎或受傷，像是嚴重的耳部感染，你有可能無法控制你的臉部肌肉。

But it could actually get worse.

情況甚至可以更糟。

Now, along that facial nerve there is a taste nerve.

除了顏面神秘，還有味覺神經。

It's called chorda tympani.

又稱鼓索神經。

That's right, the nerve for taste runs right through your middle ear.

沒有錯，味覺神經直接通過你的中耳。

And if that nerve gets damaged, you could alter or even lose your sense of taste permanently.

如果那條神經受損，你的味覺可能會改變或永久喪失。

By the way, not only are your ears incredibly important for tasting food, but what you're listening to can also change your food's flavor.

你的耳朵不只對味覺有極大的影響，你聽到的東西甚至會影響你食物的風味。

For example, research has shown that white noise can dull saltiness but enhance crunchiness.

有研究指出白噪音會減低對鹹味的敏銳度，但卻提升酥脆的口感。

And in one study, volunteers perceived a dish to be eggier when they listened to the sound of clucking chickens.

有一個研究的結果顯示，志願者邊聽雞啼聲邊吃東西會覺得那道菜的雞蛋味更濃。

But whether it's the sound of chickens or my beautiful voice, it all enters your ear through the cochlea, a shell-like structure in the inner ear.

無論是雞啼聲或是我美妙的聲音，全都會經過耳蝸傳進你的耳朵，耳蝸是位於你內耳的殼狀物。

Inside the cochlea, there are over 16,000 hair-like cells, which take vibrations entering your ear and convert them into nerve impulses.

耳蝸內部有超過 16,000 個毛絨狀的細胞，這些細胞吸收進入耳道的震動再專轉換成神經衝動。

Those impulses travel to your brain, which turns them into the sound you hear.

那些衝動會傳達至你的大腦，從而變成你所聽到的聲音。

So if it weren't for those cells, you'd be deaf.

如果沒有這些細胞，你就會失聰。

Which is why it's incredibly important that you keep them protected.

因此，我們必須要好好保護它。

Especially from menaces like bacteria, viruses, and even adventurous insects.

尤其是細菌、病毒，甚至是喜歡探險的昆蟲。

And for that, your ears' best defense is earwax.

因此耳朵最強的防禦就是耳垢。

Earwax is good.

耳垢是個好東西。

It is not bad to have earwax.

有耳垢並沒有什麼壞處。

That's right.

沒有錯！

You need that gross, golden wax.

你需要那看起來噁心的金黃色耳垢。

It not only has antibacterial properties, but it's also downright sticky, helping to stop invaders right in their tracks.

這不只是用作抵抗細菌，更因為它黏黏的，這有助防禦外來入侵物。

But earwax isn't the only part of your inner ear that keeps you healthy.

不過，不只內耳道的耳垢能維護你的健康。

So, there is a tube made of muscle that connects the back of your nose and your ears.

還有一條像管道的肌肉連接著鼻腔後段和耳朵。

It's called the eustachian tube, and it helps equalize pressure between your ears and the atmosphere around you.

這稱之為耳咽管，用來平衡耳朵和周圍空間之間的壓力。

Normally the tube is sealed off so nothing can travel between your ears and your throat, which keeps infections at bay.

在一般情況來說，這個管道是封閉的，才不會有任何東西能穿梭於你的耳朵和喉嚨，以防受感染。

But when there's a change in pressure, like when you're taking off in an airplane, the air inside the tube expands.

可是一旦壓力改變了，例如當飛機起飛時，你的耳咽管內的空氣會增加。

Which typically makes you want to pop your ears.

因此你才會想要紓緩耳朵的脹痛。

And that's a good thing too, because popping your ears opens the tube and releases the air, balancing the pressure inside and out.

這也是一件好事，因為讓耳朵發出「波」一聲有助打開耳咽管，並把空氣釋放出來，以平衡耳朵內外的壓力。

Speaking of balance, there's one other incredibly important structure you can find inside your inner ear: the vestibular system.

說到平衡，內耳還有一個非常重要的結構就是前庭系统。

Kind of like a level, it controls your balance using a number of liquid-filled canals.

有點像水平儀，利用充滿液體的管道作平衡。

Those balance canals are responsible for telling your body you are moving.

那些用作平衡的管道負責告訴你的身體在動。

Whether it may be moving left to right or your body's moving up and down.

不管是從左至右移動或是上下移動。

As you move around, fluid in the canals sloshes against millions of hair-like structures called stereocilia, and this sends a signal to the brain where you process it as movement.

當你四處走動時，管道裡的液體會流淌在數百萬個絨毛狀的纖毛上，並向大腦傳送訊息指示你在移動。

That's why infections like the common cold can sometimes make you feel dizzy.

所以當你染上一般感冒時會感到頭暈。

They often cause inflammation in the vestibular nerve, which distorts those signals.

更會常引起前庭神經發炎，以致大腦錯誤接收訊息。

So the next time you find yourself walking without falling over, or tasting your food, or listening to, well, anything, think of your ears.

所以呢，當你發現你走路平穩、在品嚐食物或是在聽東西等情況，想想你的耳朵。

Which, as it turns out, have a lot more going on inside than out.

事實證明，耳朵內部運作的功能比外表多呢。