Final answer:
The term 'beside the ear' refers to the 'parotid' gland. The cochlear nerve carries auditory information to the brain, and sound waves are transduced into neural signals by the ear's structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that means 'beside the ear' is b) Parotid. This refers to the parotid gland, which is a large salivary gland located beside the ear. In the context of anatomy and medicine, terms like subaural, parotid, aural, and supra-aural are often used to describe locations relative to the ear. Regarding other ear-related questions, the nerve that carries auditory information to the brain is the cochlear nerve, and hearing involves the transduction of sound waves into neural signals by structures of the ear, such as the auricle, also known as the pinna, and the ossicles in the middle ear.