Ear

The ear handles both sound and balance.

Sound

 * Sound is deflected into the external ear canal.
 * The waves are amplified and make the eardrum vibrate.
 * Which makes the ossicles (thos bones) vibrate.
 * Those amplify the vibrations, and convey it to the oval window.
 * Which sends vibrations through the cochlear fluid.
 * This causes the basilar membrane to bend, which makes cilia embedded in the tectorial membrane to bend. This generates neural signals by the hair cells.
 * They synapse with bipolar cells, that then form the auditory nerve.
 * This information goes either to inferior colliculus and the olivary complex.

Vestibular system
The vestibular system is part of the somatosensory system. It collects information about our position in space in relation to gravity, movement, and helps compensating for movement. It consists of two groups of receptors per ear; the semicircular canals and the otolith organs.

Semicircular canals
Collects information about the movement of the head. Each canal is for a direction (and its opposite) in space. The canals are filled with the fluid endolymph. Hair cells detect the motion of the endolymph, which creates action potentials.

Otolith organs
Collects information about the tilting of the head. Contain gelatinlike stuff with small crystals in it called otoconia. The gelatin presses against hair cells when the head is tilted, which creates an action potential.