Ear Disorders

Summary

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.
• Ear barotrauma is an injury to your ear because of changes in barometric (air) or water pressure.

Some ear disorders can result in hearing disorders and deafness.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
• Find an ENT American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Children

• Anotia (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Aural Atresia (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Cauliflower Ear Nemours Foundation
• Ear Injuries (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts and Childhood Hearing Loss National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Flying and Your Child’s Ears Nemours Foundation
• Microtia (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Taking Care of Your Ears Nemours Foundation
• Tympanoplasty Nemours Foundation
• What’s Earwax? Nemours Foundation
• Your Ears Nemours Foundation

Patient Handouts

• Aural polyps Medical Encyclopedia
• Benign ear cyst or tumor Medical Encyclopedia
• Ear discharge Medical Encyclopedia
• Ear emergencies Medical Encyclopedia
• Ear examination Medical Encyclopedia
• Ear wax Medical Encyclopedia
• Earache Medical Encyclopedia
• Eardrum repair Medical Encyclopedia
• Otosclerosis Medical Encyclopedia
• Ruptured eardrum Medical Encyclopedia
• Tympanometry Medical Encyclopedia

Genetics

• Auriculo-condylar syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Congenital deafness with labyrinthine aplasia, microtia, and microdontia: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine

Encyclopedia

• Caloric stimulation Medical Encyclopedia
• Cosmetic ear surgery Medical Encyclopedia
• Ear tag Medical Encyclopedia
• Eustachian tube patency Medical Encyclopedia
• Fusion of the ear bones Medical Encyclopedia
• Glomus tympanum tumor Medical Encyclopedia
• Low-set ears and pinna abnormalities Medical Encyclopedia

Images

• Chondrodermatitis Nodularis Helicis VisualDX

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Ear Diseases National Institutes of Health

Specifics

• Conductive Hearing Loss American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
• Ear Canal Infection (Swimmer’s Ear) Merck & Co., Inc.
• Ear Injury Merck & Co., Inc.
• Ear Tumors Merck & Co., Inc.
• Earwax Blockage Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Foreign Object in the Ear: First Aid Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Otosclerosis National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Perichondritis Merck & Co., Inc.
• Vestibular Neuronitis Merck & Co., Inc.

Diagnosis and Tests

• Ear Problems American Academy of Family Physicians

Treatments and Therapies

• Ear surgery – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Eardrum repair – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Otoplasty (Cosmetic Ear Surgery) Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Related Issues

• Eustachian Tube Dysfunction American Academy of Family Physicians

Reference Desk

• NIDCD Glossary National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Journal Articles

• Ear diseases and deformities