Define audition and explain, in detail, the transduction process for audition.

Audition is the sensation and process of hearing. Transduction follows this pathway: sound waves enter the pinna, travel down the auditory canal, and come to the tympanic membrane (the eardrum). The sound waves cause the tympanic membrane to move. Next, this movement causes the ossicles (three tiny bones in the middle ear) to move. The ossicles amplify the sound and send it through the oval window. Once through the oval window, the sound waves are now in the inner ear approaching the cochlea. Vibrations from the ossicles send the fluid in the cochlea to and fro. Within the cochlea is the basilar membrane, which has hair cells on it. These hair cells are responsible for transduction and convert the sound waves into neural impulses. These impulses are then sent down the auditory nerves to the brain for processing.