The human ear can be divided into three parts, the Outer ear consisting of the Pinna and the ear canal, together these collect the sound and direct it inwards; the middle ear consisting of the ear drum and the three bones, together these convert the collected sound into vibrations and the inner ear, that is fluid filled and contains highly sensitive hair cells.
These hair cells respond to the vibrations and move, thereby enabling the auditory nerve to carry the sound information from the hair cells to the hearing center of the brain.
Any disorder in any of the three parts of the ear can cause hearing problem.
The inner ear disorder can also be divided into two types: 1.
Sensori neural hearing loss 2.
Neural Hearing loss The sensor neural type of loss results from missing or damaged sensory cells (hair cells) in the inner ear and is usually permanent.
This is also called nerve deafness and can be mild, moderate, severe or profound.
While Surgery can not cure sensori neural loss, medication at times, helps.
Mild to severe sensor neural hearing loss can be helped to some extent by hearing aids, whereas, profound sensor neural hearing loss can be helped with cochlear (inner ear) implants.
In more technical terms, this type of loss can be further classified into two parts a.
Acoustic Neuroma: This is a slow growing non-cancerous tumor that might develop in the ear canal b.
Labyrinthitis: It is an infection, which affects the inner ear and causes inflammation.
It is also referred to as Otitis Interna.
This infection can be both, bacterial as well as viral and be the result of an allergy, head injury or stress etc.
This might cause weakness and giddiness.
It normally lasts for two to three days and can be helped with medicines or may correct its own self.
The second type of loss is neural hearing loss: This is normally caused by the damage to the auditory nerve, which is not able to pass enough sound information to the brain.
This is a profound hearing loss and is almost permanent.
It cannot be helped be helped with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
In Technical Terms this type of hearing loss is called Vestibular Neuritis.
It is normally caused due to inflammation of the vestibulo-cochlear nerve, connecting the ear to the brain.
Besides loss of hearing, the more serious effects of this disorder is, that the person finds it difficult to balance himself and often complains of vertigo.
It may also result in dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting and varies from person to person.
These problems can be solved with medication with anti-viral drugs, steroids (although these should be avoided as far as possible) and vestibular rehabilitation exercises.
Inner ear disorders are mostly caused by bacteria and might affect only one ear.
The inner ear problem may also result in symptoms like: Giddiness, neck pain, headache, stiffness in legs, anxiety, ringing, cracking and clicking sensation etc.
if you have any of these syptoms please consult a doctor or ENT consultant immediately...