HOW THINGS CAN GO WRONG
We’ve talked a lot about how your ears work, how they allow you to collect and interpret sound, and even how the fluid in your ears can help you maintain balance. Most of this happens every day, every minute of every day, and without much notice. You may remember certain sounds you have heard, your baby’s cry, your mother’s voice on the phone, or your children’s laughter, but you won’t be thinking about the mechanics of hearing or balance too much, unless there is something wrong and only when it is not working as it should.
There are many factors that influence your ability to hear and hear well, and your sense of balance. Even the smallest thing, like an overabundance of earwax, can undermine your hearing. Of course, there are also serious hearing and balance problems that need to be treated medically. Let’s take a look at the most common hearing and balance difficulties.
Swimmer’s Ear
This has been named swimmer’s ear because it generally occurs when the ear has been exposed to water or humidity for an extended period of time. This condition is also known as acute external otitis because it is an infection of the ear canal. When the ears are frequently submersed in water, the production of cerumen, or earwax and its acidity (that normally protects the canal) are diminished. This leaves the ear canal vulnerable to bacterial infection.
While swimmer’s ear is not generally serious, it should be treated by a physician to avoid a chronic condition or even cellulitis, which is a deep tissue infection that can become very serious. A person with swimmer’s ear will experience pain, especially when the outer ear (pinnae) is touched or moved. A reduction in hearing is normal as the sufferer will hear sounds in a muffled way, because the sound funneling capability of the ear canal is diminished. Usually treated with a topical ear drop, swimmer’s ear is a common, but usually not severe, condition of the ears.
Earwax Impaction
One of the most common causes of a decrease in hearing is the overabundance of ear wax in the ear canal. Some people just produce more earwax (a condition that is medically known as cerumen) than others and their ears do not easily rid themselves of the skin cells and other foreign matter that the earwax collects. Also, many people mistakenly use cotton swabs in an effort to remove troublesome earwax, unknowingly making the problem worse by pushing the wax back into the canal to the ear drum. Your doctor will tell you that you should never put anything into the ear canal. You should rather use a washcloth on the external portion of the ear. This should be enough to keep your ears clean.
There are many over the counter remedies that can help in earwax removal. Most of them depend on a combination of peroxides and oils to soften and remove the earwax slowly. If the problem becomes too difficult to handle, a doctor should be consulted to thoroughly remove the impacted wax. Many people with this problem don’t even realize that their hearing has been impaired by it until they have the wax removed.
Ear Infection
Otitis Media, or a middle ear infection, seems to be part of childhood, and indeed, this is one of the most common childhood illnesses. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that three out of four children have had at least one ear infection by the age of three. Untreated, ear infections can lead to permanent hearing loss. Many children who suffer from chronic ear infections will experience some loss of hearing. The first line of defense against ear infection will be the use of antibiotic. When a child either becomes resistant to the medication or simply continues to suffer with ear infections regardless of treatment, a myringotomy is performed. This procedure, done under general anesthesia, involves the placement of drainage tubes in the ear canal that remove the fluid buildup associated with frequent ear infections.
Middle ear infections are rarely a problem for adults, but they can still happen. This treatable illness should not lead to long-term hearing loss if it is diagnosed on time and treated appropriately.
Meniere’s Disease
A serious condition of the inner ear that affects both hearing and balance, Meniere’s Disease affects about half a million people in the United States. Commonly attributed to an imbalance in the fluid in the inner ear, which is responsible for hearing and to maintain balance, this disease is most common in middle aged people. The main symptoms of Meniere’s Disease are vertigo, loss of hearing, Tinnitus and aural fullness.
Vertigo is the term for the sudden feeling of a loss of balance that is inconsistent with your actual surroundings. Tinnitus (which we will revisit in the next section) is the sensation of ringing in the ears. Aural fullness refers to a blocked feeling in the ear canal. With Meniere’s Disease, the symptoms are generally one-sided in respect to the hearing problems. The disease can cause lifestyle complications as the sufferer would be battling hearing loss and dizziness. It also shares some symptoms with other more serious conditions such as high blood pressure, or heart disease, and so a doctor should be consulted to rule out other serious conditions and to treat the illness.
Common treatments for Meniere’s Disease include anti-nausea medications and diuretics, as well as lifestyle changes such as reducing salt intake and avoiding caffeine. In severe cases, surgery may be the only option to regain balance.
Tinnitus
Of course Tinnitus is the reason why you’re reading his book, so let’s take a quick peek at the condition. Commonly experienced as a ringing in the ears, Tinnitus is a condition that affects many people, and the causes can vary from something as simple as ear wax blockage or stress, to the serious condition of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. A person with Tinnitus will complain of ringing, whistling, buzzing or other persistent noise, in the absence of a source of this noise. For some people it is a constant sound, for others it comes in short spurts. In either case, it is an annoyance and can be a signal of underlying problems in the ear or elsewhere. Subjective Tinnitus is the condition where only the person suffering with the condition can hear the sounds; and objective Tinnitus can be heard by a doctor when examining a patient.
Some of the causes of Tinnitus include:
Tinnitus can develop in people of all ages, but is most common in men over the age of 65. You are also at risk of developing the condition if you have been repeatedly exposed to high noise levels over a period of time, such as working on a construction site without ear protection.
There are few medications that can safely and effectively treat Tinnitus – lifestyle changes and ear wax removals are good first steps toward alleviating the symptoms of Tinnitus. Changes in medication or addressing such issues as high blood pressure may help, as well as a thorough cleaning (by your doctor) of the ear canal. Hearing aids may be of assistance, as well as white noise machines that help to mask the constant noise occurring in the ears. Doctors have found that certain anti-depressants may help with Tinnitus, but the side effects make them a last resort. Prevention may be the best defense against Tinnitus, of course, if you don’t have it already. Protecting the ears from loud noise, whether you are using the lawnmower or going to a concert, will go a long way toward ensuring your auditory health in the future. Keeping your cardiovascular system healthy is another indirect way to protect yourself against a myriad of illnesses, even those that are not directly associated with the heart.
The Amazing Ear
From the outer ear to the inner ear, this small sensory organ does a big job, and one we usually take for granted as long as everything is working as it should. On taking a closer look however, it should amaze us when we find just how perfectly and ingeniously our ears really function. As you are reading this, your ears are responding to the sound waves in the air around you - maybe you have the radio on and music is playing, or maybe someone in your family is talking on the phone. You are able to make sense of that input even as you are able to concentrate on reading this article.
Your ears collect sound and transfer it as mechanical energy to the brain, where it is translated and understood as language, music and sound. You are able to tell the difference between people’s voices and even tell if your best friend has a cold when you are talking to her on the phone. The human ear is an amazing organ that is able to control both sound and balance and keep the entire body on an even footing.