| A | B |
|---|
| Middle ear | Air filled; malleus, incus, stapes. forward sound waves to inner ear |
| Oval window | separates middle ear from the inner ear |
| Eustachian tube | Air passage to the middle ear to equalize air pressure on both sides of TM |
| Inner ear | Has receptors for hearing and balance. Sensorineural apparatuses |
| Perilymph | Baths membranous labyrinth |
| Bony labyrinth: Vestibule | Assess position of head (balance) |
| Bony labyrinth: Semicircular canals | Assess speed and direction of movement (equilibrium) |
| Bony labyrinth: Cochlea | Organ of Corti; receptor for hearing (hair cells) |
| Membranous labyrinth (cochlear duct) | Filled with endolymph which moves with body movement. (position sense) |
| Audiometry | Tests the sensitivity of hearing |
| Tuning Fork Tests | Assess conduction of sound by air and bone. Determine type of loss |
| Weber's Test: Sound very loud | Conductive hearing loss |
| Weber's Test: Sound softer | Sensorineural hearing loss |
| Otoscopic Exam | Visualize ear canal and tympanic membrane |
| Caloric Test | Checks for disorders of the vestibular system or it's CNS connections |
| Age related hearing loss | Atrophy of the cochlea, chochlear nerve cells and the organ of corti |
| Presbycusis | Hearing loss associated with age; sensorineural |
| Otalgia | Ear pain |
| Conductive hearing loss | Interference with the conduction of sound waves from the external or middle ear to the inner ear |
| Sensory hearing loss | Malfunction of the nerve pathways in the inner ear. Hear sound but difficult to understand (muffled) |
| Bone conduction receivers | Worn behind the ear against the skull |
| Air conduction receivers | Worn in the external canal |
| TDD | Telephone services for the deaf |
| Cochlear implant | 4 parts, receiver surgically implanted. Electrodes stimulate cochlea |
| External Otitis | Infection or inflammation of the ear canal |
| Ear Wick | Tampon for the ear to treat external otitis or furuncle |
| Furuncle | Infected hair follicle in the ear canal; staph |
| Otitis Media | Infection of the middle ear; acute and chronic |
| Myringotomy | Procedure to create a small opening in the TM to decrease pressure |
| Tympanostomy | Myringotomy plus tubes to keep TM open |
| Cholesteatoma | Complication of chronic otitis media; growth of cells into middle ear when TM perforated |
| Tympanoplasty | Plastic surgery done if TM doesn't heal on its own |
| Mastoidectomy | If mastoid is chronically infected |
| Mastoiditis | In adequately treated middle ear infection that can spread to the brain |
| Otosclerosis | Formation of new bone tissue around the stapes preventing transmission of vibrations to the inner ear |
| Stapedectomy | Tx for otosclerosis - removal of diseased bone and replacement of prosthetic implant |
| Meniere's Disease | Chronic disorder of the labyrinth; accumulation of fluid in the inner ear |
| Endolymphatic shunt | Permanent tx of meniere's disease to drain excess fluid from inner ear |
| Labyrinthitis | Usually follows an URI, flu, acute otitis media or pneumonia; inflammation of labyrinth |
