[+] Wax Buildup

One major problem with hearing is the buildup of wax in the ear canal. The ear is normally a self-cleaning mechanism. The skin grows outward from the eardrum to the outer canal. The fine hairs gently and constantly move dry particles of wax, and sloughed skin out of the canal. Many individuals have a buildup of the wax and skin inside the canal. If not cleaned out the eardrum can become completely blocked, greatly reducing hearing and eventually cause permanent damage.

One cause of excessive wax buildup is the use of cotton swabs to clean the canal. The cotton swab is larger than the canal and many times you will be pushing wax deep into the canal, until it is completely blocked.

The best way to maintain a healthy and clean ear canal is to use a few drops of pure apple cider vinegar. Just use an eye dropper to place two or three drops in your ears, two to three times a week. You can also flush out the canal using warm water (make sure it won't burn) in a rubber syringe.

If you have itching in your ear canal, you can use a few drops of baby oil once or twice a week to lubricate the canal.

Common Symptoms Include:

• partial hearing loss, may be progressive
• tinnitus, noises in the ear
• earache
• fullness in the ear or a sensation the ear is plugged

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[+] Meniere's Disease

Ménière’s disease, also called idiopathic endolymphatic hydrops, is a disorder of the inner ear. Although the cause is unknown, it probably results from an abnormality in the fluids of the inner ear. Ménière’s disease is one of the most common causes of dizziness originating in the inner ear. In most cases only one ear is involved, but both ears may be affected in about 15 percent of patients. Ménière’s disease typically starts between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Men and women are affected in equal numbers.

What Are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of Ménière’s disease are episodic rotational vertigo (attacks of a spinning sensation), hearing loss, tinnitus (a roaring, buzzing, or ringing sound in the ear), and a sensation of fullness in the affected ear. Tinnitus and fullness of the ear in Ménière’s disease may come and go with changes in hearing, occur during or just before attacks, or be constant.

There may also be an intermittent hearing loss early in the disease, especially in the low pitches, but a fixed hearing loss involving tones of all pitches commonly develops in time. Loud sounds may be uncomfortable and seem distorted in the affected ear.

From all the Ménière’s disease’s symptoms, vertigo is usually the most troublesome. It is commonly produced by disorders of the inner ear, but may also occur in central nervous system disorders. Vertigo may last for 20 minutes to two hours or longer. During attacks, patients are usually unable to perform activities normal to their work or home life. Sleepiness may follow for several hours, and the off-balance sensation may last for days.

The symptoms of Ménière’s disease may be only a minor nuisance, or can become disabling, especially if the attacks of vertigo are severe, frequent, and occur without warning.

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[+] Dizziness

Some people describe a balance problem by saying they feel dizzy, lightheaded, unsteady, or giddy. This feeling of imbalance or dysequilibrium, without a sensation of turning or spinning, is sometimes due to an inner ear problem.

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[+] Vertigo

A few people describe their balance problem by using the word vertigo, which comes from the Latin verb "to turn". They often say that they or their surroundings are turning or spinning. Vertigo is frequently due to an inner ear problem.

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[+] Perforated Eardrum

A perforated eardrum is a hole or rupture in the eardrum, a thin membrane that separates the ear canal and the middle ear. The medical term for eardrum is tympanic membrane. The middle ear is connected to the nose by the eustachian tube, which equalizes pressure in the middle ear.

A perforated eardrum is often accompanied by decreased hearing and occasional discharge. Pain is usually not persistent.

Causes Of Eardrum Perforation

The causes of perforated eardrum are usually from trauma or infection. A perforated eardrum can occur:

• If the ear is struck squarely with an open hand
• With a skull fracture
• After a sudden explosion
• If an object (such as a bobby pin, Q-tip, or stick) is pushed too far into the ear canal.
• As a result of hot slag (from welding) or acid entering the ear canal

Middle ear infections may cause pain, hearing loss, and spontaneous rupture (tear) of the ear-drum resulting in a perforation. In this circumstance, there maybe infected or bloody drainage from the ear. In medical terms, this is called otitis media with perforation.

On rare occasions a small hole may remain in the eardrum after a previously placed PE tube (pressure equalizing) either falls out or is removed by the physician.

Most eardrum perforations heal spontaneously within weeks after rupture, although some may take up to several months. During the healing process the ear must be protected from water and trauma. Those eardrum perforations which do not heal on their own may require surgery.

Effects On Hearing From Perforated Eardrum

Usually, the larger the perforation, the greater the loss of hearing. The location of the hole (perforation) in the eardrum also effects the degree of hearing loss. If severe trauma (e.g. skull fracture) disrupts the bones in the middle ear which transmit sound or causes injury to the inner ear structures, the loss of hearing maybe quite severe.

If the perforated eardrum is due to a sudden traumatic or explosive event, the loss of hearing can be great and ringing in the ear (tinnitus) may be severe. In this case the hearing usually returns partially, and the ringing diminishes in a few days. Chronic infection as a result of the perforation can cause major hearing loss.

Treatment Of The Perforated Eardrum

Before attempting any correction of the perforation, a hearing test should be performed. The benefits of closing a perforation include prevention of water entering the ear while showering, bathing, or swimming (which could cause ear infection), improved hearing, and diminished tinnitus. It also may prevent the development of cholesteatoma (skin cyst in the middle ear), which can cause chronic infection and destruction of ear structures.

If the perforation is very small, otolaryngologists may choose to observe the perforation over time to see if it will dose spontaneously. They also might try to patch a cooperative patient's ear-drum in the office. Working with a microscope, your doctor may touch the edges of the eardrum with a chemical to stimulate growth and then place a thin paper patch on the eardrum. Usually with closure of the tympanic membrane improvement in hearing is noted. Several applications of a patch (up to three or four) may be required before the perforation doses completely. if your physician feels that a paper patch will not provide prompt or adequate closure of the hole in the eardrum, or attempts with paper patching do not promote healing, surgery is considered.

There are a variety of surgical techniques, but all basically place tissue across the perforation allowing healing. The name of this procedure is called tympanoplasty. Surgery is typically quite successful in closing the perforation permanently, and improving hearing. It is usually done on an outpatient basis.

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[+] Tinnitus

Is the Ringing in My Ears Normal?

Not at all. Tinnitus is the name for these head noises, and they are very common. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from this discomfort. Tinnitus may come and go, or you may be aware of a continuous sound. It can vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal or whine, and you may hear it in one or both ears. When the ringing is constant, it can be annoying and distracting. More than seven million people are afflicted so severely that they cannot lead normal lives.

Can Other People Hear the Noise in My Ears?

Not usually, but sometimes they are able to hear a certain type of tinnitus. This is called "objective tinnitus," and it caused either by abnormalities in blood vessels around the outside of the ear or by muscle spasms, which may sound like clicks or crackling inside the middle ear.

What Causes Tinnitus?

Most tinnitus comes from damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. The health of these nerve endings is important for acute hearing, and injury to them brings on hearing loss and often tinnitus. If you are older, advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment and tinnitus. If you are younger, exposure to loud noise is probably the leading cause of tinnitus, and often damages hearing as well.

There are many causes for "subjective tinnitus," the noise only you can hear. Some causes are not serious (a small plug of wax in the ear canal might cause temporary tinnitus). Tinnitus can also be a symptom of stiffening of the middle ear bones (otosclerosis).

Tinnitus may also be caused by allergy, high or low blood pressure (blood circulation problems), a tumor, diabetes, thyroid problems, injury to the head or neck, and a variety of other causes including medications such as anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, sedatives, antidepressants, and aspirin. If you take aspirin and your ears ring, talk to your doctor about dosage in relation to your size.

Treatment will be quite different in each case of tinnitus. It is important to see an otolaryngologist to investigate the cause of your tinnitus so that the best treatment can be determined.

Tinnitus Treatment

In most cases, there is no specific treatment for ear and head noise. If your otolaryngologist finds a specific cause of your tinnitus, he or she may be able to eliminate the noise. But, this determination may require extensive testing including X-rays, balance tests, and laboratory work. However, most causes cannot be identified. Occasionally, medicine may help the noise. The medications used are varied, and several may be tried to see if they help.

The following list of DOs and DON'Ts can help lessen the severity of tinnitus:

• Avoid exposure to loud sounds and noises.
• Get your blood pressure checked. If it is high, get your doctor's help to control it.
• Decrease your intake of salt. Salt impairs blood circulation.
• Avoid stimulants such as coffee, tea, cola, and tobacco.
• Exercise daily to improve your circulation.
• Get adequate rest and avoid fatigue.
• Stop worrying about the noise. Recognize your head noise as an annoyance and learn to ignore it as much as possible.

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[+] Middle Ear Infection

Middle ear infection is an infection that occurs behind the eardrum, in the middle part of the ear. While it can happen in people of all ages, it mainly affects children. The medical term for middle ear infection is otitis media.

Middle ear infection is the most common childhood illness treated by pediatricians. It usually develops a few days after a child has a cold or the flu. Half of all children will have at least one middle ear infection while they're growing up, most often before age 3.

Children generally suffer from one of three forms of middle ear infection:

Acute otitis media - a sudden but temporary inflammation in the middle ear.

Recurrent acute otitis media- ear infections that keep coming back, with the ear returning to normal between episodes.

Chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) - a persistent accumulation of sticky thick fluid in the middle ear, also called effusion, that is not painful; children most often say their ears feel stuffy. OME is also called glue ear.

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[+] External Ear Infection

Otitis externa ("swimmer's ear") is an inflammation of the outer ear and ear canal. Along with otitis media, external otitis is one of the two human conditions commonly called "earache". It also occurs in many other species. Inflammation of the skin of the ear canal is the essence of this disorder. If inflammation progresses to infection, the ear canal may fill with swollen tissue and drainage. Once the ear canal is blocked, hearing will be dampened (conductive hearing impairment) until the condition improves. In very severe cases, the skin infection can spread to the face (facial cellulitis) and to the major salivary gland in the cheek (parotitis). In that situation, moving the jaw and eating become painful. In its mildest forms, external otitis is so common that some ear nose and throat physicians have suggested that most people will have an episode at some point in life. In many individuals, for the reasons discussed below, the condition is recurrent and will happen several times in a lifetime.

Inflammation of the ear canal skin typically begins with the loss of protective oils and ear wax (cerumen) along with minor injury to the skin. That injury often stem from attempts at self-cleaning or scratching using cotton swabs, hair pins or other implements small enough to fit in the ear canal. Prolonged water exposure (either swimming or exposure to extremely high humidity) is enough alone to both decrease the protective barrier of ear wax and to cause tiny breaks in the waterlogged skin, hence the name, "swimmer's ear". Since the swollen ear canal skin often is both itchy and painful, and sometimes associated with a feeling that something is stuck in the ear, a vicious cycle of self-cleaning or scratching can perpetuate the condition. Wax glands shut down the production of protective cerumen when the canal skin is inflamed, and weeks are required for the outer ear to completely return to normal production of wax and protective oils after even a short bout of moderately severe external otitis. During this recovery period, the skin is markedly more vulnerable to becoming re-infected. For these reasons, among others, some people are prone to recurrent external otitis with exposure to water.

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