Cholesteatoma Health Dictionary

The ear is susceptible to various disorders, some of which can lead to deafness. In rare cases, the ear canal, ossicles in the middle ear, or pinna are absent or deformed at birth. Rubella in early pregnancy can damage the baby’s developing ear, leading to deafness. Most cases of congenital sensorineural deafness are genetic.

Infection is the most common cause of ear disorders; it may occur in the ear canal, leading to otitis externa, or affect the middle ear, causing otitis media. This can lead to perforation of the eardrum (see eardrum, perforated). Persistent glue ear, often due to infection, is the most common cause of childhood hearing difficulties. Viral infection of the inner ear may cause labyrinthitis.

Cauliflower ear is the result of one large or several small injuries to the pinna. Perforation of the eardrum can result from poking objects into the ear or loud noise. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause tinnitus and/or deafness. Pressure changes associated with flying or scuba diving can also cause minor damage (see barotrauma).Tumours of the ear are rare. Acoustic neuroma is a noncancerous tumour of the acoustic nerve that may press on structures in the ear to cause deafness, tinnitus, and problems with balance.

In cholesteatoma, skin cells and debris collect in the middle ear. Obstruction of the ear canal is most often the result of earwax, although in small children, an object may have been pushed into the ear (see ear, foreign body in).

In otosclerosis, a hereditary condition, a bone in the middle ear becomes fixed, causing deafness. Meniérè’s disease is an uncommon condition in which deafness, vertigo, and tinnitus result from the accumulation of fluid in the inner ear. Deafness in many elderly people is due to presbyacusis, in which hair cells in the cochlea deteriorate.

Certain drugs, such as aminoglycoside drugs and some diuretic drugs, can damage ear function.... ear, disorders of

Rupture or erosion of the eardrum. Perforation of the eardrum can cause brief, intense pain. There may be slight bleeding, a discharge from the ear (see ear, discharge from), and some reduction in hearing.

Most commonly, perforation occurs as a result of the build-up of pus in the middle ear due to acute otitis media. Perforation may also be associated with cholesteatoma. Another cause is injury, for example from insertion of an object into the ear, a loud noise, barotrauma, or a fracture to the base of the skull.

Diagnosis is confirmed by examination of the ear (see ear, examination of).

Hearing tests may also be performed.

Analgesic drugs may relieve any pain and antibiotic drugs may be prescribed to treat or prevent infection.

Most perforations heal quickly.

If the perforation has failed to heal after 6 months, myringoplasty may be needed.... eardrum, perforated

Inflammation of the middle ear. This condition is due to a viral or bacterial infection extending up the eustachian tube, which runs from the back of the nose to the middle ear. The tube may become blocked by inflammation or enlarged adenoids, causing fluid and pus to accumulate in the middle ear rather than draining away through the tube. Children, particularly those under 7 years, are especially susceptible to otitis media, and some children have recurrent attacks.

Acute otitis media can cause sudden severe earache, a feeling of fullness in the ear, deafness, tinnitus, and fever. The eardrum may burst, in which case healing usually occurs within a few weeks. The condition is diagnosed by examination of the middle ear with an otoscope; the eardrum will appear red and possibly bulging outwards. Treatment is with analgesic drugs, and sometimes antibiotic drugs, although many childhood infections are viral.

One possible complication of otitis media is glue ear (chronic secretory otitis media), in which a thick fluid builds up in the ear and affects hearing.

It may develop following severe or recurrent otitis media, particularly in children.

Other complications include hearing impairment and a cholesteatoma.

In rare cases, the infection responsible for otitis media spreads inwards to cause mastoiditis.... otitis media

n. a surgical operation to remove *cholesteatoma from the ear. It is a form of limited *mastoidectomy.... atticotomy

n. an operation to remove some or all of the air cells in the bone behind the ear (the *mastoid process of the temporal bone) when they have become infected (see mastoiditis) or invaded by *cholesteatoma. See also atticotomy.... mastoidectomy

n. inflammation of the ear. Otitis externa is inflammation of the canal between the eardrum and the external opening of the ear (the external auditory meatus). Myringitis is inflammation of the eardrum, often due to viral infection. Acute otitis media is inflammation, usually due to viral or bacterial infection, of the middle ear (the chamber lying behind the eardrum and containing the three bony ossicles that conduct sound to the inner ear). Symptoms include pain and a high fever. Treatment is with antibiotics and sometimes also by surgical drainage (*myringotomy). Secretory otitis media (or otitis media with effusion) is a chronic accumulation of fluid in the middle ear, causing hearing loss (see glue ear). Chronic otitis media (COM) is chronic inflammation of the middle ear associated with perforations of the eardrum and in some instances with *cholesteatoma. The treatment involves surgical repair of perforations (*myringoplasty) or removal of the air cells in the mastoid bone (*mastoidectomy). Chronic otitis media was previously known as chronic suppurative otitis media but the terminology was changed as the formation of pus is not an inevitable part of the condition. See also labyrinthitis.... otitis