Diseases of the Ear

The ear is a complicated organ, and things don't always working, causing pain, impairment and even deafness.

External Ear
Middle Ear
Inner Ear
Ear Aches

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There are many diseases of the ear, and while most are not serious, many can cause partial or total deafness, sometimes permanently. Deafness is the inability to hear, and seriously cripples a person’s ability to communicate effectively. There are particular diseases that affect certain portions of the ear.

External Ear - malformations caused by heredity or injury may require reconstructive surgery. Related to this is Othematoma, or cauliflower ear, is common in boxers with injuries to their ear cartilage.

Inflammation of the skin, or dermatitis, can be caused by injury, burns, frostbite, and skin diseases. There normally only cause mild discomfort.

Foreign matter can block the auditory canal reducing the ability to hear clearly. These blockages can be caused by cotton or even insects, but most often from cerumen, a waxlike secretion. These blockages must be removed carefully without penetrating further than the ear canal.

Middle Ear - Sudden forceful impact to the ear or nose, or rapid changes in atmospheric pressure, may perforate the eardrum. The middle ear is also subject to infection caused by pus-forming bacteria. This can be treated with medications, such as antibiotics. One other serious problem, which affects 1 in 1000 adults, is otosclerosis or otospongiosis, a condition where spongy bone is developed between the stapes and oval window, disabling some or all transmissions to the inner ear. Surgery may be required, though the tissue may continue to develop causing hearing loss years later.

Inner Ear - Ménière’s disease, resulting from lesions in the semicircular canals can produce nausea, hearing loss, tinnitus ("ringing" of the ear and other strange noises). More serious is destruction of the Corti organ, which accounts for many totally deaf cases among adults. An electronic device can be used to simulate the cochlear functions, but offers only low quality sound, useful only as an aid to lip-reading.

Ear Aches
The most common illness attributed to the ear, the earache, or otalgia, is usually not even caused by the ear. It can be caused by infection of the sinuses or tonsils, or can be from ear wax, allergies or tumours. Also important to point out is that prolonged exposure to loud noises damages the cochlea’s hair cells, and may cause permanent tinnitus or deafness.

Sources
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Glossary
All the words in bold are found in the Glossary. If you don't understand a word, click on the beside it, to go directly to the Glossary Page.
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