What is a pinna in the ear?

If you’re wondering what a pinna is, let me gently whisper the sweet nothings of science in your ear. You see, the pinna is actually the fancy word for your outer ear. Yes, that pesky flappy thing on either side of your head.

Function Of The Pinna

Now don’t be mistaken, your pinna isn’t just there to help keep those headphones from falling off. No, it’s got a pretty important job!

Sound Localization

For starters, one of its most significant roles is to localize or directionally interpret sound waves Effectively, this means that our brain can map where sounds are coming from by using information gathered from both ears through time and volume differences as well as spectral cues based on how different frequencies are absorbed or reflected by an object.

Superhuman Hearing Capabilities

So next time you find yourself secretly proud because you were able to guess exactly where the person was dropping their weights down in the gym without taking off your noise-cancelling behemoths – give thanks not only to superior spy-like intuition but also hairy little fella residing outside each eardrum. Turns out Superman ain’t got nothing’ on us humans when it comes to hearing (‘Cause he ain’t even real folks).

Protection

Aside from being great at sounding snobbish about spotting #hipsteraudiophiles with over $1500 worth wireless buds while walking past an outdoorsy cafe; our dear ol’ cartilage-covered friend also functions as barrier between our beloved inner ear (cochlea) and unwanted debris/fingers/moisture/cockroaches etc.

Although we will never know whether evolution had been truly inspired by some terrible Q-tip incidents involving ancient cavemen siblings – It’s probably safe to say Ickey Woods would’ve approved (-shuffles forward trying his hand at the ‘Icky shuffle’-).

The pinna traps all sorts of nasty particles and bacteria that’s carried by our hair or near microscopic air colonies before it enters into the deeper areas of nuestros oidos.

Amplification

Last but not least, your ear’s outer shell works like a mini-sensitive receiver as well. Similar to how the horn end amplifies guitar sound waves which are then amplified further by an electric circuit within an amp device, adding gain (volume) along with some tasty acoustic characteristics – so too does your great looking neon phone counterpart-wrecker we affectionately call Pinny.

Multiple Pinna Syndrome

As any well-followed breeders-personality can attest – there is more to different breeds than coat colors and shedding tendencies; likewise individuals with differently shaped ears will have differing Auditory cues that shape their perception of music or sounds. People born without both pinnas due to birth deformation(Anotia condition has been known for example), would’ve lost nearly half of normal humans level about approximately twenty-fold decreased loudness according to Orthotope implant study conducted in Hannover university in Germany.

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pros| Cons
Cool looks |Difficulty wearing certain hats
Sound amplification| Getting hat hair
Protective barrier from debris/moisture||
Facilitates correct localization ||

Structure Of The Pinna

Now that you know what functions your little hearing superhero serves – lets get down how its engineered & structured!

Shape And Anatomy

Unsurprisingly since everyday objects shapes are optimized around physics needs such as bird wings resemble airplane parts, mountain points enable easy ice cutting etc- ears too have undergone adaptations molded over thousands and millions of years for maximum efficiency based on auditory environments faced my their ancestries eg hunters et al…

Your auricle consists primarily out if skin cartilage mixture devoid complex internal structure unlike other body organs. It can be broken down into distinct parts.

Helix

The most prominent feature of the auricle, is the Cartilage covered outer rises part forming a characteristic curl and along with attendant valleys are important in detecting elevation data for sounds.

Lobule

AKA Earring holder or ear lobe!This fleshy lower portion has no cartilaginous base & thus contributes barely to localizing function but more used as accessory hangar -only area where you should let your Chihuahua nibble on (too soon?). Can grow infinitely long apparently according this record(“18.1 cm (7.125 in) from the top to bottom”) established by Guinness world records if that’s what floats your boat…

Acoustic Resonance

While significant sound enrichment takes place inside concha thanks to its funnel shape properties – There’s still plenty going on around other visible areas too

Concha Cavity

Located just next right adjacent to opening of ear canal,it determines how well low frequencies can make it inside our ears through reverberation and resonance phenomena.’When you visit metallic concert gargling vinaigrette dressing’-sounding sensation some people feel? Now ya know what causes it! Maybe stick with bottled water pre-concert though 😉.

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• So while pinnas may pale in comparison aesthetically compared Scarlett Johansson’ed curves – we hope current understanding would have one appreciate these points subtle nuances/additions.
• Just imagine hummingbird level superhuman hearing abilities couple with natural protection barrier/preventive values!
  What do YOU personally find most incredible about these ‘shell houses of hearing¹?

You might not be able to string together polyphonic vocal performances like Brahms’ Symphony No. 9 currently ongoing Barcelona nightfall – so tribute performance for Pinna isn’t entirely unsuitable, because without them just wouldn’t quite get the same aural satisfaction.

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¹ I’m Tryna get us all hashtagging this -for outreach/fundraisingpotential!#shellhousesofhearing