All About Ears

Knowing about ..

EARS
© 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

What are “ears”?
• The ears are the
anatomical organ that
detects sound. It not
only acts as a receiver
for sound, but also
plays a major role in the
sense of balance and
body position. The ear
is part of the auditory
system.

reserved.

So, what are the
parts of the ear ?

reserved.

Parts of Ear
The three major parts of the human ear are the outer ear, the middle ear and
the inner ear. The working of human ear is in such a way that the sound
waves travel from the outer ear to the middle ear, which are then transmitted
to the inner ear in the form of compressional waves. In the inner ear, the
compressional waves are converted into electric impulses that are
perceived by the brain. Charie Camilo. in brief about the different parts of the
© 2012 Let's discuss All rights
human ear and their role in hearing .
reserved.

How does your ear work ?

reserved.

3 Major Sections of ear
• There are three major sections
of an ear:
• Outer Ear
• Middle Ear
• Inner Ear

reserved.

Outer Ear
• Sounds from the outside
world are picked up by the
outer ear, which is made
up of the pinna and the ear
canal. As the sound waves
enter the ear, the ear canal
(1) serves to increase the
loudness of those pitches
that make it easier to
understand speech. At the
same time the ear canal
protects another important
part of the ear: the
eardrum (2) - a flexible,
circular membrane which
vibrates when touched by
sound waves. © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Middle Ear
• The sound vibrations
continue their journey into
the middle ear, which
contains three tiny bones
called the ossicles(3-5),
which are also known as
the hammer, anvil and
stirrup. These bones form
the bridge from the
eardrum into the inner ear.
They increase and amplify
the sound vibrations even
more, before safely
transmitting them on to the
inner ear via the oval
window.
reserved.

Inner Ear
• The Inner Ear, or cochlea
(8), resembles the circular
shell of a snail, and houses a
system of tubes which are
filled with a watery fluid. As
the sound waves pass
through the oval window (6)
the fluid begins to move,
setting tiny hair cells in
motion. In turn, these hairs
transform the vibrations into
electrical impulses that
travel along the auditory
nerve (9) to the brain itself.
Exactly how the brain
actually translates these
nerve impulses remains a
mystery. © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

© 2012 Charie Camilo. All Video:
rights “How your ear work ?”
reserved.

Some common..

EAR CONDITIONS THAT YOU
SHOULD KNOW
reserved.

Ear Wax
• Earwax is a bit of a problem for millions of
British people. Everybody produces a bit
of wax, but a lot of us have a genetically
determined tendency to make lots of
it. Result: you can't hear anything!
• Fortunately, earwax is easily treated. The
excellent drops which you can buy from
any chemist (such as Waxsol, Cerumol or
Otex) will soften and dissolve it. But if it
has got very hard, then the only way to
get rid of the wax is to get a doctor or
nurse to syringe it for you.
• Incidentally, please DON'T try and dig the
wax out with hairpins or other
objects. Contrary to what many people
think, it is not a good idea to stick things
into the 'lughole'. That is likely to damage
the delicate tissues of the ear.
BACK reserved.

Earache
• Fortunately, this gets less
common as you grow
older. It is usually caused by
a germ - which gets into the
interior of the ear after
working its way up the tube
which leads up from the
throat to the cavity of the
middle-ear region.
• Initial treatment is with
aspirin, Paracetamol or
Nurofen, plus warmth to the
ear. Many doctors give
penicillin or other anti-biotics,
but there is controversy
about how soon they should
be used. © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Outer Ear Inflammation
• Also known as 'otitis externa', this is
pretty common in the retirement age
group. It causes itching and
soreness, and a discharge from the
ear. It's commoner in people who
have spent time in the tropics,. and it
tends to be made worse by swimming -
particularly in pools in warm climates,
where there may be the odd 'bug' in
the water!
• Otitis externa needs treatment by a
GP or an ENT consultant. Usually the
doctor will clean out the ear and
prescribe special drops. Sometimes
it's necessary to put a 'wick' into the
interior of the ear to help it
recover. Most important, however
itchy the ear, don't poke any hairpins
etc into it! © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Sore Places in The Ear
• Lumps and raw spots on the
ear are common,
particularly in the over-50s -
especially in those who
have been exposed to a lot
of sun during their lives. If
you get any unexplained
lump or sore place on your
ear and it doesn't clear up
within a week, please do
have it checked out by your
doctor - because (to be
frank) there is a risk that it
could be a skin tumour.

reserved.

Tinnitus
• The word 'tinnitus' just
means 'noises in the
ear'. It's NOT a disease
- just a symptom of
something
wrong. Incidentally, m
any people think it's
called 'tinnitis' - but it
isn't; the spelling is
'tinnitus'. You can see
that the important thing
with tinnitus is to find
out what's causing it.
reserved.

Possible causes include:
• An insect in the ear - very RARE in the UK!
• Aspirin and similiar drugs
• Presbyacusis (see below) - this is the form of
deafness often seen in the over-50s; it is often
associated with tinnitus
• Wax
• Fluid in the middle part of the ear
• Damage by noise
• Damage from diving
• Meniere's disease
• Labyrinthitis - a common inflammation of the inner
part of the ear © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Vertigo
• The word 'vertigo' means the kind of
giddiness in which things actually
seem to spin round you. It is often
due to problems in the balance
mechanisms of the inner part of the
ear. Possible causes include
labyrinthitis and Meniere's disease.
• There is also something called
'Benign Positional Vertigo', which
often develops in the second half of
life. What happens is that you move
your head - and then you suddenly
feel awfully giddy. The cause is
believed to be tiny 'stones' in the
fluid of the inner part of your
ear. Fortunately, ENT surgeons
have developed a way of curing the
condition by carrying out a
manipulation called 'Particle
Reposition Manoeuvre'. © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Meniere’s Disease
• People with Meniere's disease suffer
recurrent attacks of deafness,
tinnitus and vertigo. These attacks
are very upsetting - but (thank
heavens) patients feel OK in the
intervals between bouts. The cause
of Meniere's seems to be a
disturbance in the fluids which
circulate in the inner part of the ear.
• Initial treatment is with anti-vertigo
drugs and (usually) salt restriction. If
these measures fail, there are
surgical operations which can be
tried - but alas the results are
variable.

• BACK
reserved.

Labyrinthitis
• This is a common condition, in
which a person suddenly
becomes very giddy, and may
feel sick as well. Sometimes
they go a bit deaf for a
while. This disorder (which is
also knows as 'vestibulitis') is
thought o be due to a virus. So
not surprisingly, there are
sometimes little outbreaks, in
which several people develop
the same symptoms.
• Antibiotics will not help, but
fortunately labyrinthitis usually
gets better of it's own accord,
over a few weeks.

• BACK © 2012 Charie Camilo. All rights
reserved.

Catarrh
• Catarrh in the back of the
throat is notorious for
causing all sorts of
symptoms in the ears;
deafness, 'popping',
discomfort and sometimes
slight giddiness.
• The commonest cause is
smoking. Catarrh can't be
treated with ear drops -
because they wouldn't get
through the ear drum. So
the most common way of
treating it is with nose
drops.
reserved.

Deafness
• Deafness in the second half of
life is very
common. Frequently, it's due
to one of the causes mentioned
above - like catarrh or ear
wax. Fortunately, these are
easily cured.
• The effect of this degeneration
is that high-pitched sounds are
lost, to begin with. One result
of this is that you can't hear
consonants clearly - just
vowels. This is
irritating! People who suffer
from it are always
saying: 'Don't mumble - speak
up!'
reserved.

How to …

TAKE CARE OF YOUR EARS

reserved.

• Avoid blows to the outer ear. If you wrestle, box or
participate in a contact sport such as rugby, wear
headgear that includes protection for your ears.
Repeated blows to the outer ear can result in a
condition called cauliflower ear, in which the
cartilage of the ear is damaged and the ear
becomes deformed.

reserved.

• Pierce carefully, particularly if piercing cartilage.
An infected piercing can cause permanent damage
to the outer ear, something that will ruin the look of
any earring.

reserved.

• Clean your ears with a washcloth-covered finger
only. Never put anything inside your ear canal,
including cotton swabs. Your ear canal is very
narrow, and a swab or finger can damage it; they
can also cause ear wax to get pushed against the
ear drum, which can cause hearing problems.

reserved.

• Leave ear wax alone. Wax is your ear's way of
trapping and eliminating anything foreign that gets
into the ear canal. Most people don't need to clean
wax out of their ears. If you find you have too much
ear wax (it's visible in the ear or it's affecting your
hearing), use a few drops of ear wax remover or
hydrogen peroxide in the canal. After a few minutes,
flush the ear with a rubber bulb and tepid water.

reserved.

How to …

PROTECT YOUR EARS

reserved.

• Avoid noisy places. NASCAR racetracks, firing
ranges, rock concerts and construction sites are
just a few places that frequently have noise levels
that can damage hearing. Any place where you
have to shout to be heard should be avoided. If you
choose to go anyway, wear earplugs.

reserved.

• Turn the volume down. Be careful not to play
personal stereos and televisions too loud,
especially if using headphones or earbuds.

reserved.

• See your doctor if you have an earache. Ear
infections can damage the ear drum or the bones of
the middle ear, causing hearing loss. Your doctor
may prescribe medication or order a minor surgical
procedure to help you if you suffer from frequent
infections.

reserved.

• Be careful with illness and medications. Respiratory
illnesses should be treated to avoid their spread to
the ears. Certain medications can damage hearing;
take only what's prescribed for you and follow the
directions carefully. Avoid others who are ill; some
illnesses can only be treated with antibiotics that
can damage hearing.

reserved.

• Stop smoking. Smokers are more likely to lose their
hearing than non-smokers.

reserved.

• See your doctor if you suffer from sudden hearing
loss or hear noises in your head (tinnitus). These
can be symptoms of a serious illness which needs to
be treated.

reserved.

Sources

• http://www.retirement-matters.co.uk/gparchive/ears.htm
• http://www.ahschicago.com/how-does-your-ear-work/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear
• www.youtube.com
• www.google.com/images

reserved.

All about “EARS”
• Almodiel, Gilesa A.
• Camilo, Charmaine S.
• Dequilla, Yvonne Precious E.

ACS-2A
reserved.

END
reserved.

All About Ears

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to All About Ears

More from Charmaine Camilo

Recently uploaded

All About Ears