Final answer:
The auditory information is transmitted through the vestibulocochlear nerve and cochlear neurons to the auditory nerve, which carries it to the brain. The brain stem combines information from both ears to determine the location of sounds. Projections to various brain areas are responsible for other functions related to hearing.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the auditory system, hair cells from the utricle, saccule, and semicircular canals communicate through bipolar neurons to the cochlear nucleus in the medulla. Cochlear neurons send descending projections to the spinal cord and ascending projections to the pons, thalamus, and cerebellum. The auditory information travels along the neural endings of the bipolar neurons of the hair cells, collectively known as the auditory nerve, to the brain.
The sensory pathway for audition travels along the vestibulocochlear nerve, which synapses with neurons in the cochlear nuclei of the superior medulla. Input from both ears is combined in the brain stem to extract location information from the auditory stimuli. Additionally, there are projections to various areas in the brain responsible for feelings of dizziness, motion sickness, subjective measurements of the external world and self-movement, and coordination of eye and head movements.