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Ear disorders
Ear disorders can manifest themselves through various symptoms: from poor hearing to ringing in the ears to discharge (runny ear), pain and dizziness, anything can be involved. If you experience these or other symptoms in one or even both ears, the first thing to do is to have them checked to see if it really is an ear disease. Hearing problems can often arise if your ear is blocked by a foreign body, water or improper cleaning.
Table of Contents
- Ear diseases
- Noises in the ears
Different ear diseases
If an ear disease is discovered in the further course of the examination, the doctor must determine which it is based on the clinical picture. This is the only way to ensure optimal treatment. Some ear diseases are either acute, recurrent or chronic. One of the best-known is otitis media which is inflammation in the middle ear. Oftentimes, inflammation does not only affect the middle ear, it can also be located in the inner ear and in the ear canal.
There are other ear diseases that are hereditary. These include Menière’s disease , which brings typical symptoms such as vertigo and ringing in the ears, and the very rare Usher syndrome, which is associated with profound hearing loss through to complete hearing loss and increasing visual impairment.
Noise in the ear
Tinnitus and sudden hearing loss count as noises in the ears rather than ear diseases. Tinnitus describes noises in the ears that sound different for each patient. In general, however, a humming, ringing or rushing noise is usually described. Since it can occur in several diseases, tinnitus is therefore a symptom. Sudden hearing loss is often equated with it, as both symptoms often occur together in hearing problems.
But here, too, the following applies: sudden hearing loss can occur with several ear diseases and is therefore not necessarily one of the ear diseases.