Tympanum is the technical name for the eardrum — the thin skin stretched across the inside of your ear that shakes when sound hits it, exactly like the skin of a drum.

Tympanum鼓膜（tympanum） is the technical name for the eardrum是耳膜的專業說法——the thin skin stretched across the inside of your ear那層繃在耳朵內部的薄皮 that shakes when sound hits it聲音打到它就會震動，exactly like the skin of a drum就跟鼓皮一樣。

This is a doctor's and a biologist's word, not an everyday one.

This is a doctor's and a biologist's word這是醫生和生物學家用的字，not an everyday one不是日常用語。

In a clinic or a textbook you will see 'tympanum' or the fuller 'tympanic membrane'; when a doctor talks to a patient, they say 'eardrum'. The plural is usually 'tympana', following Latin, though 'tympanums' is also seen.

In a clinic or a textbook在診間或教科書裡 you will see 'tympanum' or the fuller 'tympanic membrane'你會看到 'tympanum' 或更完整的 'tympanic membrane'；when a doctor talks to a patient醫生跟病人說話時，they say 'eardrum'會說 'eardrum'。The plural複數 is usually 'tympana'通常是 'tympana'，following Latin這是照拉丁文來的，though 'tympanums' is also seen不過也看得到 'tympanums'。

Two other uses are worth knowing so you are not confused when you meet them.

Two other uses還有兩種用法 are worth knowing值得認識 so you are not confused when you meet them這樣你遇到時才不會搞混。

In insects — crickets, cicadas, moths — the tympanum is the flat hearing patch on the body, often on the leg or the side, which is why 'tympanum' turns up in nature writing about cicadas.

In insects在昆蟲身上——crickets, cicadas, moths蟋蟀、蟬、蛾——the tympanum指的是 is the flat hearing patch on the body身體上一塊平平的聽覺器官，often on the leg or the side常在腳上或身體側邊，which is why 'tympanum' turns up in nature writing about cicadas這也是為什麼寫蟬的自然文章裡會出現 'tympanum' 這個字。

In architecture, it is the flat triangular or half-round space above a doorway, often filled with carving; that use comes from the same drum-skin picture, a surface stretched inside a frame.

In architecture在建築裡，it is the flat triangular or half-round space above a doorway指的是門楣上方那塊平的三角形或半圓形空間，often filled with carving常常刻滿雕飾；that use comes from the same drum-skin picture這個用法也是來自同一個「鼓皮」的畫面，a surface stretched inside a frame一塊繃在框架裡的表面。