Ears Asessment Flashcards
The middle ear acts as a?
Volume dampener to protect the inner ear
External Ear
Auricle or pinna
Made up of flexible cartilage and skin
Design is to guide sound waves into meatus of external auditory canal
Eustachian tube
Conduit that connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx and allows for pressure regulation of the middle ear
Inner ear is responsible for?
Translation of sound to cranial nerve VII which transmit it to the brain stem
Only section responsible for vestibular function
Organ of corti
Transfers the signal into electrical impulses for the auditory nerve
Sound is perceived in two ways
Air conduction and bone conduction, compromise in either causes hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss
Occurs when sound wave transmission through the external or middle ear is disrupted
Sensorimotor hearing loss
Results from a problem somewhere beyond the middle ear Sites of dysfunction: Cochlea Organ or corti Auditory nerve Auditory cortex
Presbycusis
Results from gradual degeneration of of nerves and sensory hair cells of the organ of corti
Can be from aging or ototoxic drugs
Tinnitus
Perception of buzzing or ringing in one or both ears that does not correspond with external sound
Illness in the labyrinth can cause
Loss of equilibrium and sense of vertigo
Menier’s disease
Vertigo, sever nausea and vomiting, exacerbation so that can last up to 24 hours
Vertigo is pregnant women can result from?
Increased vascularity and edema
Infants and children are susceptible to?
Otitis media,
Infants and children’s Eustachian tube is different how?
Shorter, wider and more horizontal
In children, Enlarged adenoids related to nasal allergies often obstruct?
Outlets for the eustachian tube to drain
Otis media can cause?
Severe discomfort, difficulty feeding, sleeping, and general fussiness and rarely causes hearing loss
Normal for fluid to remain in ears for three months
Repeated infections or persistent middle ear effusion causes?
Temporary conductive earring loss which can delay onset or advancement of speech
Otosclerosis
Common conductive hearing loss in older adults resulting from slow fusion of any combination of the ossicles in the middle ear
Presbycusis
Loss of higher pitch sounds, garbled or mumbled speech
Immediate attention for ear problems
Button battery in ear canal, foul smelling drainage, ear trauma, sudden hearing loss
Cholesteatoma
Abnormal accumulation of squamous epithelium within the middle ear
Common ear symptoms
Hearing loss
Vertigo
Tinnitus
Otalgia
Whisper test
Evaluates for loss of high frequency sounds. Have patient cover opposite ear. Whisper a simple sentence from 18” back, have pt repeat sentence
Weber’s test
Helps to differentiate the cause of unilateral hearing loss
Placement of external ear on the skull in infants
Superior portion of the pinna should be congruent with the outer canthus of the eye