Ear and hearing
The ear is the task of hearing, synthesizing sounds and sending them to the brain to interpret these sounds, but it also plays an important role in the process of maintaining balance in man. The ear consists of three main parts: the external ear, which collects sounds through the ear, and middle ear Which move the sounds from the external ear in the form of vibrations to the inside, and the inner ear, which connects the sound vibrations from the middle ear to reach the brain through the nerves.
middle ear
The middle ear is the middle part of the ear where the ear drum starts and ends at the oval window. It consists mainly of three magnets: the hammer, the anvil, and the passengers, in addition to the circular window, the oval window and the Astacus channel. These oases form a bridge between the eardrum and the oval window, which in turn covers the entrance of the cochlea (part of the inner ear) The sound of the hammer connected to the ear droplet is transferred from one great to the other, thus doubling the strength of these waves up to 20 times stronger at the oval window than it was at the drum.
Types of otitis media
Osteoarthritis is the second most common disease in childhood, after inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, and has several types:
- Acute otitis media : It is a disease with a rapid pace, and is accompanied by many of the following symptoms, and is characterized as a recurring disease where more than a third of children are infected six times or more before reaching the age of seven.
- Osteoarthritis : A collection of fluids in the middle ear with lack of symptoms of inflammation (heat, ear pain, irritability), usually occurs after exposure to acute otitis media.
- Chronic otitis media : This type lasts for at least six weeks and usually accompanied by ear canal, resulting in incision or hole in the eardrum.
Causes of otitis media
Osteoarthritis is a multi-cause disease. These causes, in one way or another, close the Stakios channel, leading to the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear and thus inflammation.
- Reasons related to the host (the person who is likely to be infected with the disease). These include: immunological reasons, where neonatal immunity is weak, genetic causes, myosin deficiency, anatomical abnormalities in the Astacius channel, etc.
- Infection: Bacterial infection causes most infections, the most common are Streptococcus pneumoniae and endemic haemorrhagic. These infections can also be caused by a viral infection, the most important of which is respiratory respiratory infection.
- Allergy-related causes: Studies have shown a link between otitis media and respiratory allergies.
Causes of increased chances of otitis media
The following factors increase the incidence of otitis media:
- Smoking and air-polluting cars and factories.
- Older children are more likely to develop ear infections because their immune system is not complete.
- Frequent infestation with flu, influenza and tonsillitis.
- Suffering from allergies.
- Nutrition: Studies have shown that children who are breastfed are less likely to develop the disease.
Symptoms of otitis media
Multiple symptoms of otitis media, including:
- Weak hearing ability.
- Loss of appetite and lack of desire to eat.
- Feeling of pain in the ear especially about lying on the back.
- High temperature.
- Inflammation sometimes accompanies diarrhea.
- Itching in the ear.
- Increase the amount of earwax extracted.
- The presence of sleep disorders.
- In infants, there is constant crying and inability to breastfeed.
- Some pus secretions come out and have a foul odor
- Feeling severe headache.
- Dizziness, dizziness, nausea and loss of balance.
The reasons for the doctor’s review
Signs and symptoms of ear infection generally indicate several conditions and therefore it is necessary to arrive at a precise diagnosis until the treatment is good, and therefore it is advisable to see your doctor in the following cases:
- If symptoms persist for more than a full day.
- If you find these symptoms when a child is less than 6 months old.
- If the ear pain is severe and severe.
- If the child has sleep disturbances or is irritable after a cold or any inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
- If you notice the exit of fluids, pus or blood from the ear.
- In adults, if there is pain in the ear, no matter how severe or excreted, go to the doctor immediately.
Diagnosis of otitis media
Osteoarthritis is diagnosed mainly on the basis of symptoms and clinical examination, but there are ways to help the diagnosis, including:
- Ophthalmoscope : Where the doctor notes through him any changes to the eardrum.
- Drum Scale : Used to measure pressure inside the ear.
- Reflection scale : Where the doctor to make a sound close to the patient’s ear and hearing the reflected voice can determine whether the ear contains liquids or not.
- Hearing examination .
Treatment of otitis media
You should expedite the appropriate treatment to get rid of infections so that the person does not have complications that may reach the hole in the eardrum and thus loss of hearing in whole or in part, and inflammation can be transmitted to the brain cells adjacent to the ear, and treatment methods:
- Take antibiotics to eliminate bacteria that cause inflammation.
- Pain relief: either by taking painkillers or by placing a cloth dampened with hot water on the affected ear.
- To aspirate liquids inside the ear, or to install the so-called ear tubes to filter fluid continuously.