The hair cells are lined up on a membrane that runs the length of the cochlea called the basilar membrane.
	Sound waves cause the bones of the middle ear to hit against the oval window, a covered opening of the cochlea, which sets the fluid inside in motion.
	The hair cells are stimulated with the movement of the basilar membrane and convert this physical stimulation into neural impulses that are then sent throughout the thalamus to the auditory cortex, located mostly in the temporal lobes.