The three Ossicles are the second important structure in the Middle Ear.
Why should sound be amplified? It‰s because the Inner Ear, as we shall see, is filled with fluid. When sound waves travel from one medium (like air) to another (liquid), energy is lost. This is a phenomenon called impedance.
We actually lose around 50 Db, which is the sound level of a good conversation. Without some means of recovering the loss, we would have to shout at each other to hear. This is really the major contribution of the middle ear--to amplify sound.
The mechanism that does this is the Tympanic membrane and the three tiny bones (Malleus, Incus & Stapes). Naturally, because this is a 300 level course, we don‰t refer to them as bones but as ossicles.
As a point of interest, these are the smallest bones in your body! All three would fit on your fingernail. They originated, phylogenetically, from jaw bones. Hence, we have fewer bones in our jaw than species in lower phylums that have jaw bones.