Hearing problems and disorders

Conduction impairment and nerve impairment are the two basic categories of hearing problems. Conduction impairment is the blocking of sound waves a they travel through the external and middle ear to the sensory receptors of the inner ear (the conduction pathway). Nerve impairment results from insensitivity to sound because of inherited or acquired nerve damage. In this article I will define a few of the hearing disorders that will contribute to both of these categories.

Mastoiditis is caused by infections that rupture the ear drum and spread to the mastoid cells. Ear trouble occurs because of infections of the nose, throat and Eustachian tube. Germs can spread through the Eustachian tube into the middle ear due to being ill. Causes of these infections can include an inflamed adenoid, bad colds, sore throat, or sinus trouble. Most damage to the end occurs in the middle ear. The middle ear carries most of the sound-conducting mechanism that may be destroyed by serious chronic infection. There are medicines that help to cure ear infections. In some middle ear infections, a doctor may make a small incision in the eardrum to reduce the pressure and pain in the ear. The eardrum heals in about fourteen days with no scar. Without an incision due to some middle ear infections the eardrum may burst from too much pressure.

Otosclerosis impairs conduction by causing structural irregularities in the stapes. Otosclerosis usually first appears during childhood or early adulthood as tinnitus. There can be mixed impairments due to Otosclerosis. One called sensori-neural hearing impairment results from interference to the inner ear in a condition called cochlear otosclerosis. The other impairment can cause episodes of unsteadiness as it affects the balance canals.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears is reported as a buzzing, whistling, hissing, or roaring sound. These symptoms can be associated with disease of the eighth nerve, inner ear, or ossicles, and severe and prolonged tinnitus in the presence of normal hearing is very rare. If tinnitus is localized to one ear and is described as having a tonal character, such as ringing or a bell-like tone, it is probably cochlear in origin. A pulsating tinnitus syncronous with the pulse may be related to an intracranial vascular malformation; since introspective individuals often report hearing their pulse when lying down with one ear on a pillow. Nervous individuals are less tolerant of tinnitus than are more stable persons.

Otitis is the temporary conduction impairmnet often resulting from ear infection. The structure of the auditory tube makes the middle ear prone to bacterial or viral otitis media. Otitis media often produces swelling and pus formation that blocks the conduction of sound through the middle ear. Permanent damage to structures of the middle ear occasionally occurs in severe cases. Untreated otitis media can lead to mastoiditis. Small children are prone to this disorder. This will cause accumulation and inflammation of fluid in the middle ear.

Another disorder of the ear is a painful inflammation of the external ear canal commonly known as "Swimmer's Ear". The medical term for this disorder is External Otitis. Swimming and diving are reasons for this disorder but only if you have abnormal ears. If your ears are normal then chances are you will not get this disorder. Diving can force the infection into the middle ear and can injure your ear drum because of lack of air pressure in the middle ear. Persons with normal ears should take certain precautions in breathing while swimming and in blowing the nose after leaving the water. Nose plugs, ear plugs and head caps are useful to many.

Loud noises can also cause damage to the ear. It is best to wear cotton plugs in the ears as ear protectors. Safety regulations for people working in an industrial situation require protective cover of the ear. A type of hearing loss similar to presbycusis occurs after chronic exposure to loud noises as the noise damages receptors in the organ of corti. Hearing impairment can be only in frequencies associated the part that is damaged.

Old age is a factor in hearing loss as the changes of old age may bring on deafness because the ear ossicles tend to fuse, so that usually only sounds of low frequencies are conducted. This condition is called presbycusis and is hearing loss caused by nerve impairment common in the elderly. This is a progressive hearing loss associated with aging. It results from degeneration of nerve tissue in the ear and vestibulocochlear nerve.

Meniere's disease is a chronic inner ear disease of unknown cause. It is characterized by tinnitus, progressive nerve deafness and vertigo (sensation of spinning). Some symptoms of this disease are a pressure in the ear, tinnitus, low-frequency hearing loss and dizziness. There may be a sensation of spinning or symptoms associated with motion sickness. The disease can develop to a chronic affliction.

Nerve deafness has many causes such as the internal ear may be aplastic from birth (hereditary deaf-mutism), or it may be damaged by rubella in the pregnant mother. Acute purulent meningitides or chronic infections spreading from the middle ear are common causes of nerve deafness in childhood. Tumors of the cerebellopontine angle or even syphilis may cause damage to the auditory nerve.

There may be other problems and disorders of the hearing and ears not mentioned in this article but hopefully my defining the above will give you addition information.