Your ear has three main parts: outer, middle and
inner. You use all of them in hearing. Sound
waves come in through your outer ear. They reach
your middle ear, where they make your eardrum
vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through
three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your
middle ear. The vibrations travel to your inner
ear, a snail-shaped organ. The inner ear makes
the nerve impulses that are sent to the brain.
Your brain recognizes them as sounds. The inner
ear also controls balance.
A variety of conditions may affect your hearing
or balance. Ear infections are the most common
illness in infants and young children. Tinnitus,
a roaring in your ears, can be the result of
loud noises, medicines or a variety of other
causes. Meniere's disease may be the result of
fluid problems in your inner ear; its symptoms
include tinnitus and dizziness. Some ear
disorders can result in hearing disorders and
deafness.
-
Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Ear Problems(American Academy of Family Physicians)
-
Treatment
- Ear Surgery: Otoplasty(American Society of Plastic Surgeons)
-
Specific Conditions
- Airplane Ear(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Barotrauma(American Hearing Research Foundation)
- Cholesteatoma(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Earwax(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Foreign Object in the Ear(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-
Otosclerosis
(National
Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders)
- Outer Ear Disorders: Injury(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Outer Ear Disorders: Tumors(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Perforated Eardrum(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Perichondritis(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Temporal Bone Fracture(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Vestibular Neuronitis(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Pictures & Photographs
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Health Check Tools
- Ear Discharge(DSHI Systems)
- Ear Injury(DSHI Systems)
- Ear Pain(DSHI Systems)
- Noises in the Ears(DSHI Systems)
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Anatomy/Physiology
- Atlas of the Body: The Ear(American Medical Association)
- How the Ear Works(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
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Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Ear Diseases(National
Institutes of Health)
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Ear Diseases
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Titanium vs hydroxyapatite ossiculoplasty in canal wall down mastoidectomy.
- Article: Effects of speech in noise and dichotic listening intervention programs...
- Article: Clinical assessment of gustatory function before and after middle ear...
- Ear Disorders -- see more articles
- Ear cancers -- see more articles
- Ear wax -- see more articles
-
Dictionaries/Glossaries
-
NIDCD Glossary(National
Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders)
-
NIDCD Glossary
-
Directories
- Find an Otolaryngologist (ENT)(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
-
Organizations
- American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
-
National Institute on Deafness
and Other Communication
Disorders
-
Children
-
Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts
and Childhood Hearing Loss(National
Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders)
-
Flying and Your Child's Ears(Nemours
Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
-
Taking Care of Your Ears(Nemours
Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
- What's Cauliflower Ear?(Nemours Foundation)
-
What's Earwax?(Nemours
Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
-
Your Ears(Nemours
Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
-
Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts
and Childhood Hearing Loss