The ear is made up of three parts, the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The ability to hear is dependent on these three parts of the ear working together, and a problem with any part can cause hearing loss (heaing loss education centre, 2012). The inner ear consists of the cochlea, the auditory hearing nerve and the brain. These are the organs of hearing and balance and convert sound waves into nerve signals. These signals are sent to the brain using a nerve called the vestibulocochlear nerve. Nerve deafness occurs if there is damage to the inner ear and although it is possible to regain some hearing through the help of a hearing device, nerve deafness is often permanent. (deaf websites, 2013)
Damage to the inner ear can be caused by old age, exposure to loud noise, family history or Ménière’s disease.
Ménière’s disease is an incurable disorder with ‘vertigo, tinnitus (ringing, buzzing, noises in the ears) and progressive deafness’ (Nordqvist, 2009) . It affects one in a thousand people and can occur at any age, although it is more common between the ages of forty and sixty. The disease starts in one ear and around twenty five percent of these people will be affected in the other ear at a later date (knott, 2012) .
SYMPTOMS OF MENIERE’S DISEASE
Meniere’s disease usually occurs in attacks of many symptoms and can be unpredictable. The patient may be affected by attacks of these symptoms followed by long periods of time where they are not at all affected. This is referred to as remission. These attacks can last anywhere from twenty minutes to twenty four hours. The main symptoms include vertigo, tinnitus, a feeling of deep pressure inside the ear and hearing loss.
Vertigo is the most common and noticeable sym...
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Throughout our day to day lives we are exposed to many sounds such as the sound of traffic, coversation, TV, nature and music. More often than not these sounds that we experience are at a low safe level, levels that will not affect or harm our hearing. Unfortunatley when we are exposed to sound levels that are too high or loud sounds over a long period of time there is a chance that the delicate inner workings of the ear can be permanatly damaged. This is known as noise induced hearing loss (NIHL)
Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder. People diagnosed with Meniere’s disease experience a variety of symptoms which include a fluctuating hearing loss which can turn permanent, tinnitus or a ringing sound in the ears, ear pressure, and spinning also known as vertigo. Most people with Meniere’s disease only have one ear affected by the disease. Meniere’s disease usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 50, but it can appear at any age. Meniere’s disease is chronic and there is no cure, but there are treatment options people can use to minimize some of the symptoms they might experience (1).
Schreiber, B. E., Agrup, C., Haskard, D. O., & Luxon, L. M. (2010). Sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The Lancet, 375(9721), 1203-1211.
After the sound is processed in the cochlea, the auditory information travels into the brain in order to be interpreted.
Meniere’s disease is a controversial inner ear disorder that has a variety of symptoms. It was first discovered by French physician Prosper Meniere in 1861 after seeing a variety of patients with episodic vertigo attacks. (John Jacob Ballenger, 1996). After a variety of research, Prosper Meniere theorized that the symptoms that his patients were experiencing such as tinnitus and vertigo were not coming from the brain but were actually coming from the inner ear. These findings lead to the research of inner ear disease and its association with inner ear balance disorders. (P.J. Haybach).
In our everyday lives, we almost take for granted this idea of balance or equilibrium that is maintained within our bodies. In general, no real thought processes are required. It is only when something is disturbed within our balance system that one is able to take notice of changes in the equilibrium. There may be several different factors that cause a disturbance to our bodies. One major area pertains to dizziness. Dizziness is found to be "the chief complaint in 8 million physician visits a year" (1). Vertigo is one type of dizziness, causing illusions of movement, that is being researched more and more today because of its widespread symptoms.
Hearing serves a very important function in our lives. Much of the time, it is taken for granted. We tend not to appreciate it, until it starts to fail. There are many disorders that can cause a difficulty in hearing and hearing loss. One such disorder is otosclerosis. This disorder deserves a significant amount of research. Not only because we are dependent on our sense of hearing, but because its effects are far reaching. So much so, that it is hard to comprehend how we could ever live without it. It has even been said that Beethoven had otosclerosis. Toward the end of his career, he could not even hear his own music (Goldstein, 1999). Its effects are devastating and are well worth studying.
According to Chapman et al., (2000), the loss of hearing appears to be a chronic issue through...
Harmful noises are everywhere. “The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that approximately 30 million Americans are exposed to daily noise levels that will likely lead to hearing loss” (Daniel, 2007, p. 226). Excessive noise exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, poor communication abilities, and reduced self-esteem; however, it can be prevented in many situations. This paper will discuss how much noise exposure can occur before it becomes hazardous, the long-term effects of noise exposure at an early age, and the primary reasons why preventable socioacousis occurs.
People of all ages are affected by hearing loss. It’s one of the most common chronic conditions in the U.S., affecting over nine millions Americans over 65 and 10 million Americans between 45 to 64.
The ear houses some of the most sensitive organs in the body. The physics of sound is well understood, while the mechanics of how the inner ear translates sound waves into neurotransmitters that then communicate to the brain is still incomplete. Because the vestibular labyrinth and the auditory structure are formed very early in the development of the fetus and the fluid pressure contained within both of them is mutually dependant, a disorder in one of the two reciprocating structures affects the (2).
how those changes affect hearing in the elderly. Ageing causes pathologies which can result in
The current hypothesis is that one of my genes is a mutated gene, that mutated gene is what is causing my hearing loss. If this is the real reason why I have hearing loss, there is also worry for what other problems does this mutated gene cause. With finding a mutated gene, they will most likely be able to predict how much worse my hearing will get. Another possible but not likely cause is a tumor, currently, I have to get an MRI to make sure that there is no growth inside of my head. If there is a growth, that will lead to some serious issues. The last possible cause is that loud noises have damaged my hearing, but it is even more less likely than a tumor. I am almost never exposed to loud music, concerts, or anything of that nature, which would causes hearing loss. Since I've been losing hearing since I was 5, they have practically ruled that one out because it makes no
The ear is an organ of the body that is used for hearing and balance. It is connected to the brain by the auditory nerve and is composed of three divisions, the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The greater part of which is enclosed within the temporal bone.