If you experience a condition where you completely or incompletely stop hearing sound from either one or both ears, then you may need to consult an ear doctor specialist. An ear doctor specialist can include a neurotologist or an otolaryngologist. These specialists can help you determine the underlying reason for your situation. Further, they will find a way to treat your problem.
Let’s look more into these ear specialists.
What is a neurotologist?
A neurotologist is a medical ENT doctor that specializes in treating complex problems. This can include problems in the inner ear, the auditory nerve, and the base of the skull. They receive additional extra training to treat such complex problems. They are also known as an otologist.
What condition does a neurologist treat?
A neurotologist treats certain diseases. Some of them are as follows:
They treat conditions related to balance and dizziness problems
They treat conditions related to ear anatomy or skull base disorders
They perform surgical implantation of the bone-anchored hearing system as well as cochlear implant surgery
They also treat the condition that develops in the auditory nerve or ear. This can include conditions such as acoustic neuroma tumors and tinnitus.
What is an otolaryngologist?
An otolaryngologist is a specialist that treats conditions related to the ear, nose, and throat. They further treat the condition that occurs in a specific area of the ear, nose, and throat. This can include vascular surgery, plastic surgery, cancer surgery, and pediatrics. Moreover, an otolaryngologist also treats problems that are related to your head and neck. In short, an otolaryngologist is known as an ENT specialist.
What condition does an otolaryngologist treat?
An otolaryngologist treats several conditions. Some of them are as follows:
Conditions related to the ear. This can include infection in the ear, hearing loss, and trouble with balance.
Conditions related to the nose and nasal. This can include allergies, sinusitis, and growth.
Conditions related to your head and neck. This can include tumor and infection
Conditions related to your throat. This can include voice issues, tonsillitis, and difficulty in swallowing.
Obstructive sleep apnea or conditions related to sleep. This can include snoring, breathing difficulty while asleep, and your airway being blocked or narrow.
If you think you have one or more of the above-mentioned conditions, then make sure you consult an otolaryngologist as quickly as possible to get fast relief from these conditions.
What is otosclerosis?
Otosclerosis is a very rare condition that causes hearing loss or hearing problems. This condition is usually caused when the small bone called the stapes in the middle ear gets stuck. When the middle ear bone grows across the stapes bone in a way it shouldn’t, it causes otosclerosis.
This stapes bone in the middle has to vibrate to let you hear correctly. When this stapes bone does not vibrate, the sound fails to travel from the middle ear to the inner ear. This is why you are not able to hear things well when the stapes bone gets stuck inside the ear.
Symptoms of an otosclerosis
Hearing loss is the main symptom of otosclerosis. When you have otosclerosis, you will first notice that you can’t hear low-pitch sounds like people whispering. Then, this gets worse with time. However, the following are the other symptoms of otosclerosis. They are as follows:
Balance problems, dizziness, and vertigo
Hissing, roaring, tinnitus, and buzzing or ringing in the ear
Most people who have otosclerosis have issues of hearing loss in both ears. However, about 10% to 15% of people with otosclerosis have an issue of hearing loss in just one ear. Tinnitus can sometimes develop after going through ear surgery to treat otosclerosis.
Risk factors of otosclerosis
About 3 million Americans have suffered from this condition called otosclerosis. The exact cause of this condition remains unidentified. However, the experts can know from their research that the following factors can increase the risk of otosclerosis. They are as follows:
Genetics: This genetics often runs in families. Mostly half of the people with otosclerosis condition are hereditary. However, there is also a chance that you won’t get otosclerosis even when you have the gene.
Gender: The risk of otosclerosis is higher in women when compared to men. If the woman gets otosclerosis when she is pregnant, then she is likely to lose her hearing faster than usual.
Age: Otosclerosis usually develops at a very young age, most probably between the ages of 10 to 45 years. Symptoms at the age of 30 are usually the worst.
Medical history: Medical history is another factor that can increase the risk of otosclerosis. For example, having an immune disorder and measles can develop into otosclerosis.
Treatment of otosclerosis
Otosclerosis can be treated in three ways. Those three ways are as follows:
Monitoring: This procedure is usually used when you have mild otosclerosis
Devices: This device helps in improving the hearing sounds that you have lost. However, using devices does not cure otosclerosis.
Surgery: This surgical procedure helps in treating severe cases of otosclerosis.