Otosklerose

Definition and causes

Otosklerose is a disease of middle ear, where øreknoglerne become increasingly immobile due to the formation of bone between the individual øreknogler and the surrounding area. The movement of the three small øreknoglerhammer,armboltenandStigboejlenis important for the transfer of sound through the middle ear to the inner ear with the hearing nerve sits (seeEars function).

By otosklerose Fix especially Stigboejlen tothe oval window(entrance to the inner ear). Since øreknoglekæden thus can not move over the sound inferior to the inner ear and hearing is impaired. In advanced cases, there is also the influence of the inner ear, causing a further deterioration of hearing.

The reason for this bone formation is not known, but little evidence that there is a hereditary disease, as it often exists in several members of the same family. Approximately 0.5% of the Danish population has the disease and in 80% of those found the disease in both ears. Otosklerose twice as frequently in women as in men.

Symptoms of otosklerose

Symptoms of the disease are typically 15-30 years of age and are as follows:

Growing hearing impairments. This is the main symptom and it is always present. There can be seen all degrees of hearing loss. In many patients stop the deterioration of hearing at a time, but the patient will continue to have impaired hearing. A few patients feel that they paradoxically hear better when there is background noise.
Tinnitus. Many of otosklerose complaints about noisy in your ears, which sometimes can be debilitating.
Dizziness. Some patients experience an uncharacteristically mild dizziness

Precautions and diagnosis

If you find that your hearing slowly deteriorate, one should go to a ørelæge and get your hearing tested and ear. Especially if there are families that have similar symptoms and hearing loss occurs in young age, there are indications that there may be otosklerose.

To make the diagnosis ørelægen investigating what type of hearing loss, there is talk about how much pressure is in the middle ear and on the small muscle that has been in the ear, works as it should. In some cases, your doctor may need to create a hole in the ear drum to enter the middle ear and examine Stigboejlen movement directly.

Treatment of otosklerose

In many cases, may be limited to get a hearing aid and thereby achieves an acceptable hearing. This applies particularly if your hearing is impaired in one ear. In more pronounced cases, surgery will be considered. Such an operation performed in a local anesthetic and ørelægen use a microscope to better see the small øreknogler. Whole Stigboejlen or possibly. only a part of it is removed and replaced with a prosthesis.

More than 90% achieved by Operation great improvement of hearing. However, there is also some risk associated with surgery, with 0.5-1% lose your hearing completely due to damage to the inner ear during the operation. Therefore we can never operate if there is no hearing on the other ear, with the patient as at risk of being totally deaf. Immediately after surgery experienced most easily dizziness in a few days.