How do musical sound waves travel from the outer ear to the cochlea?

Musical sound waves travel from the outer ear to the cochlea through a process of mechanical transmission and impedance matching:

• Outer Ear: The auricle collects sound waves and funnels them into the external auditory canal, which enhances the sound through resonance. These waves strike the tympanic membrane, causing it to vibrate.1
• Middle Ear: The vibrations are transferred to the ossicular chain—the malleus, incus, and stapes. Because sound must transition from air to the fluid-filled inner ear, the middle ear acts as a transformer to overcome acoustic impedance. This is achieved by concentrating the energy from the larger tympanic membrane onto the much smaller oval window and utilizing the mechanical advantage of the ossicles.12
• Inner Ear: The stapes rocks against the oval window, creating pressure waves in the perilymph of the cochlea. These waves travel through the cochlear fluids, causing the basilar membrane to vibrate, which ultimately stimulates the organ of Corti to convert these vibrations into nerve impulses.134