What You Should Know About Common Ear Diseases
Ear problems can happen to anyone and they are usually the most disconcerting. These diseases are more common than people think, and early detection is important to preclude serious complications. A lot of people suffer from these conditions, but only few of them get diagnosis and proper treatment. While most ear diseases are not threatening, they can keep a person from doing their normal functioning. Untreated ear conditions can lead to deafness, infections like meningitis, and paralysis of the facial nerve.
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is more prevalent than we think. A lot of people suffer from mild hearing loss and don’t even know it. Without knowledge about hearing loss, a lot of people are at risk. The common cause of this condition is excessive and repeated noise exposure. People exposed to industrial noise are prone to develop hearing disorder.
Early signs of hearing loss are usually undetected because people do not really think the symptoms mean anything out of the ordinary. For instance, turning the television volume more than other people at home may not be noticed as a symptom. Inability to understand speech and conversations may sometimes be mistaken for simple confusion or inattentiveness.
Impaired hearing can have profound effects on the life of the sufferer. Without proper diagnosis, appropriate help is not achieved. At the same time, people with undetected hearing loss are at risk of sustaining further damage and progressing hearing loss.
Normal people should have their hearing assessed every three years. People who are working in hazard places (occupational areas with loud noise) should have their hearing assessed at least once a year. If you have been diagnosed with hearing loss, you should go to your audiologist or otolaryngologist regularly to monitor the progress of your impairment.
Otitis Media
Middle ear infections are common among kids, but they can occur in adults too. These infections start from common colds or sinus infections gone worse. When these upper respiratory tract infections reach the Eustachian tubes, congestion in the middle ear happens. The constriction of the Eustachian tubes creates a negative pressure in the middle ear, and this negative pressure pulls fluid from adjacent tissues. The buildup of fluid in the middle ear causes mild hearing loss, which disappears once the fluid is cleared.
There are three kinds of otitis media—serous, acute, and chronic otitis media. All these types are characterized by fluid congestion in the middle ear, but acute and chronic otitis media are accompanied by pus buildup. Serous otitis media is characterized by mild symptoms without eardrum inflammation. There is minimal ear pain, and fever is usually absent. Acute otitis media is accompanied by eardrum inflammation and foul smelling secretions. Chronic otitis media shares common symptoms with the acute otitis media, but it lasts for months or even years.
Treatment of middle ear infection involves antibiotics, but you should consult your doctor before taking any.
Otosclerosis
An abnormal growth of bone in the middle ear, which causes hearing loss, is called otosclerosis. The presence of the abnormal bone growth prevents normal transmission of sound to the inner ear. Unlike common types of hearing loss, the one associated with otosclerosis begins with the gradual loss of low frequency sound perception. High frequency hearing loss can occur later.
It has been revealed by statistics that about 0.5% of the population may be suffering from this condition. Many people with the problem do not suffer from obvious symptoms. The cause of otosclerosis cannot be pinned down, although there is some evidence indicating that it could run in families. Otosclerosis affects both ears and usually progresses. There is no definite treatment, but patients can wear hearing aids to amplify their hearing. A surgery called stapedectomy can be done to remove the stapes, and a prosthesis is placed to correct hearing loss. However, this surgery often has many complications including vertigo and complete deafness.
Meniere’s Disease
There are a number of inner ear problems, but Menieres Disease is a commonly mentioned illness in the literature of ear diseases. This is another troublesome disease that has no cure. Its cause is also unknown, although specialists point out that it is associated with excessive fluid pressure in the inner ears. Symptoms of Meniere’s disease are vertigo, feeling of pressure in the ears, fluctuating hearing loss, and ringing in the ears. Such symptoms occur without warning and last for a few hours to several days, leaving the patient debilitated. A period of remission follows an attack, and it lasts for an indefinite period of time. Meniere’s disease can be managed by treating the symptoms during an attack. There are available vertigo medications that helps reduce dizziness or spinning sensations. Hearing usually improves after the attack, and tinnitus will recede.
Tinnitus
Ringing in the ears or tinnitus is often misunderstood because it cannot be classified into one of the ear disorders. It may be a symptom of a disease or a plain condition or a product of hearing loss. In many cases, it exists alone without a causative disorder. It troubles hundreds of millions of people in the world, and many of them do not know they have tinnitus—they probably hear their ears whistling but don’t actually know what that whistling sound is.
Tinnitus can be due to hearing loss, damaged nerve endings in the inner ears, a tumor on the vestibulocohclear nerve, or other abnormalities in the ears. This condition is difficult to treat completely, but it’s a benign condition.
How to Avoid Tinnitus, Infection in the Ears, and Hearing Loss
Ear problems are more common than we think. The usual complaints are tinnitus or ears ringing, infection, and hearing loss. These problems can be prevented in most cases.
The best way to prevent both tinnitus and hearing loss before you ever have to find a cure for tinnitus or hearing loss is to avoid loud noise. Exposure to loud noises can cause real damage to your inner ears. The louder the noise and the longer your exposure, the more damage you could sustain. Most people don’t know this.
Keep the volume of your television, DVD player, and stereo at home at moderate volume. At the same time, keep your iPods and portable music players at moderate volumes too.
You can keep your ears safe by keeping it dry because moisture provides the right environment for bacteria to grow and cause infection. Ear infection can also lead to temporary hearing loss, tinnitus, earache, and ear discharge.
Do not insert sharp objects in your ears because you could injure your ears if you do so. At the same time, you could also scratch your ear canal.
Consult your doctor if you experience earache, ear discharge, ringing in your ears, and muffled hearing.
Know About the Common Ear Disorders
Only very few people seem to care about their ears, unaware of the fact that the ears are delicate parts of the human body. The ears may seem resilient, but they can suffer from loud noise exposure and trauma. Millions of people around the world are suffering from any of the common ear disorders. Many of them do not know they are. It is probably important to learn about these common ailments and their symptoms.
Hearing Loss
There are generally two types of hearing loss: conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Both cause a deficit in hearing that can range from mild to severe.
Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is a disruption of the passage of sound waves through the hearing system. It can result from a blockage, an injury, or an abnormality. The usual causes of conductive hearing loss are other ear disorders like impacted earwax, perforated eardrum, and ear infection. This type of hearing loss can be corrected by treating the initial problem that causes hearing difficulty in the first place. For example, impacted earwax can be removed to correct the hearing.
Sensorineural hearing loss is more difficult to treat and is commonly not completely treatable. This type of hearing loss is caused by aging, frequent noise exposure, sudden exposure to extremely loud noise, and ototoxic medications. Sensorineural hearing loss is due to damaged nerves.
Signs that you may be suffering from hearing loss are muffled hearing and inability to understand speech completely. People with early signs of hearing impairment notice they have trouble grasping the words spoken during a conversation and may often ask the person they are having a conversation with to repeat what themselves. They also tend to turn the TV louder than anybody else in the house. Telephone conversations are also a challenge for these people.
Ear Infections
Ear infections usually affect either the ear canal or the middle ear. Otitis externa is what we call an infection that occurs in the outer ear or ear canal. It is usually due to left moisture in the ear canal after swimming, hence the name swimmer’s ear. Moisture in the warm outer ears encourages the proliferation of bacteria. Another cause is abrasion or scratch on the ear canal, which can happen through excessive cleaning or inserting of foreign objects into the ear.
Another common ear infection, especially among children, is otitis media. It occurs in the middle ear and causes sensation of pressure, hearing loss, pain, and fever. Children with otitis media may complain about earache and have trouble sleeping. This infection can occur as a result of infection or inflammation of the Eustachian tubes. It is usually preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection, like common cold.
Vertigo
This is a condition described as a false spinning sensation. A person suffering from vertigo sees his or her surrounding is whirling about. Vertigo is not a disorder on its own, but it is a sign of one. A common cause of vertigo is a disturbance in the fluids in the inner ears, where the seat of balance lies. People with recurrent vertigo may also have these ear disorders benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Meniere’s disease, or labyrinthitis. Spells of whirling sensation and dizziness can start suddenly and strike you anytime. The sensation is debilitating and slight movements can trigger worse whirling sensations.
Impacted Earwax
Normally the ears have their natural way of removing earwax or cerumen. But in some cases, the earwax gets lodged inside the ear and become impacted. Buildup of earwax can cause hearing loss and earache. The usual cause is frequent use of cotton-tipped swabs to clean the ears. Insertion of objects into the ears can cause impaction, which can be removed only by a doctor or ear specialist.
Eardrum Rupture
Earache and hearing loss resulting from poking your ears are probably an indication of eardrum perforation. Inserting sharp objects or even cotton-tipped swabs into the ears can cause injury to the eardrums. It is never advised to clean your ears by inserting anything into the ears. Cleaning the ears can be done by wiping the opening of the ears with a clean cloth. A perforated eardrum can be painful, but it heals on its own without medication. Generally, impacted earwax and perforated eardrums are not really serious ear disorders.
Tinnitus
Ringing in the ears or tinnitus is a common complaint. It is described by most sufferers as sensation of weird high-pitched noise in the ears. Tinnitus is most noticeable in quiet environments and at night. Although it is harmless, it can trouble the sufferer. People who hear the sounds of tinnitus may suffer from sleeplessness, anxiety, and depression.
The usual cause of tinnitus is damage to the inner ears caused by exposure to noise. This damage is often irreparable and can continue if the patient does not he has it already. Many people with tinnitus are unaware of they have the condition. Mild tinnitus is often unnoticeable, but it can worsen if noise exposure continues.
People with tinnitus also suffer from hearing loss. Hence, tinnitus sufferers are often screened for hearing impairment. However, some people suffer from idiopathic tinnitus, which occurs without apparent cause.
What You Should Know About Sensitive Hearing
When it comes to our ears, we should be able to understand that there are plenty of conditions that can actually affect it. We are not just talking about mild conditions that can easily be treated with simple medicines or cures but also those that can really change how we normally live. One of the ear problems that can be very debilitating is sensitive hearing or hyperacusis.
Here are some of the facts that you should know about this condition:
• This kind of ear condition is normally characterized by the sensitivity not only to loud levels of noises but to different kinds of noises including environmental sounds. Sadly, for those who have it, they may find it very difficult to tolerate noises even those that are very soft or have very low levels.
• Apart from the sensitivity to noises, tinnitus or the incessant ears ringing noise also comes with this condition. Apart from that, hyperacusis also bring about other kinds of health problems including stress, loss of balance, nausea and dizziness.
• When it comes to what causes it, one of the most common culprits of hearing sensitivity is the exposure to loud levels of sounds. It has been said that this exposure, whether it is repeated or sudden, damages the inner ear. But apart from the exposure to high levels of sounds, other causes of hyperacusis include head injuries, Meniere’s disease, migraine, ear infections and TMJ disorders.
• The most common treatment for this condition is the retraining therapy which is also a tinnitus remedy. It uses noise maskers that produce broadband noise to help those who have sensitivity in hearing rebuild their tolerance to the different kinds of noises in the environment.
Hearing Loss and Tinnitus: What You Should Know About Ear Diseases
More often than not, people do not really pay too much attention on the proper care of the ears. Most of us might be thinking that our ears are not as fragile as the other parts of our body. Sadly, what we do not understand is that our ears are very susceptible to different kinds of problems. And these ear diseases do not only affect our hearing but also our body’s balance. We should be aware of what these ear conditions are and what can practically cause them.
These are two of the most common ear problems today:
• Tinnitus or ringing in the ears – this is an ear condition which causes an incessant noise in one or both ears. Tinnitis is not actually a disease but only a symptom of a disease. The health problems that can cause it are not necessarily ear related and can be very serious. Some of them include hearing loss, stress, hypertension, TMJ disorders, otosclerosis, ear infection and head injuries. The exact treatment for tinnitus is not yet available but you can make use of different remedies both conventional and alternative to relieve the ringing noise in your ears.
• Hearing loss – those who have this ear condition may experience it in different levels and degrees. The primary cause of hearing loss is the exposure of the ears to loud or high levels of sounds or noises. Although hearing aids can help amplify the sounds in your surroundings, it is an irreversible condition.
Prevention is for all time better than any kind of hearing loss or ears ringing cure. Remember that there is something you can do to combat the different kinds of ear problems. Take good care of your ears and avoid the things that can harm it.
