Lecture Notes
15
Special Senses:
Ears
Classroom Activity to
Accompany Medical
Terminology Systems, Sixth
Edition
Barbara A. Gylys ∙ Mary Ellen Wedding
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Structure
• Ear contains
receptors for two
senses: hearing and
equilibrium
(balance).
• Ear consists of an
external, middle,
and inner part.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Structure
• External ear
• Auricle (pinna)
• External auditory canal
• Middle ear
• Tympanic cavity
• Tympanic membrane (eardrum)
• Malleus, incus, and stapes
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Structure
(continued)
• Inner ear
• Complex system of communicating chambers
and tubes called a labyrinth.
• Contains the functional organs for hearing and
equilibrium.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Structure and Function Exercise
Q: What is involved in the process of hearing?
A: Transmission of vibrations and generation of nerve impulses.
Q: What is the sequence of structures involved in the vibrations of
sound wave transmission?
A: Sound waves enter the ear canal and vibrations are transmitted by
the following sequence of structures: eardrum, malleus, incus,
stapes, oval window of the inner ear, perilymph and endolymph
within the cochlea, and hair cells of the organ of Corti. When hair
cells bend, they generate impulses that are carried to the auditory
areas of the brain. It is here that sounds are heard and
interpreted.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Structure and Function Exercise
Q: What is involved in the process of hearing?
A: Transmission of sound waves to nerve fibers that carry impulses for
hearing to the auditory regions of the brain for interpretation of
sound.
Q: What is the sequence of structures involved in the transmission of
sound waves?
A: Sound waves enter the ear canal and are transmitted by the
following sequence of structures: eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes,
oval window of the inner ear, perilymph and endolymph within the
cochlea, and hair cells of the organ of Corti. When hair cells bend,
they generate impulses that are carried to the auditory areas of the
brain. It is here that sounds are heard and interpreted.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Otitis Media
Signs and Symptoms
• Most common symptom is an earache.
• Accumulation of fluid within the structure of
the middle ear.
• Most common among infants and young
children.
• Chronic form of serous otitis media may
develop from acute condition, or it may
result from overgrowth of adenoidal tissue
or chronic sinus infections.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Otitis Media
Signs and Symptoms (continued)
• Suppurative otitis media is caused by introduction
of pyogenic microorganisms into the middle ear.
• Often follow the mumps, influenza, or colds and
may be induced by overly forceful nose blowing.
• Swimming in contaminated water may result in a
middle ear infection.
• If pus forms in the tympanic cavity, the eardrum
may rupture, thereby relieving pressure and pain.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Otitis Media
Treatment
• Antibiotics and analgesics to relieve pain.
• In severe cases, drainage may be accomplished
by myringotomy or needle aspiration.
• Surgery, such as myringoplasty and
tympanoplasty to repair a ruptured tympanic
membrane.
• PE tubes are inserted surgically into the
tympanic membrane to equalize pressure
between the atmosphere and the middle ear.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Clincally Related Exercise
Q: A 5-year-old is examined because of ear pain. The MA charts this
symptom as _________________.
A: otodynia or otalgia
Q: Baby Molly’s mother asks the physician why infants and young children are
more at risk for developing otitis media.
A: Eustachian tubes of children and infants are shorter and narrower than
adults, making them more susceptible to blockages and retention of fluid
when they become inflamed from bacterial or viral infection.
Q: The mother of a 3-year-old girl ask the NP what complications can
develop if otitis media is not treated.
A: Untreated ear infections may lead to short- or long-term hearing loss,
ruptured eardrum, or mastoiditis. Also, there is a risk of the ear infection
traveling to other parts of the head.
Q: Baby Johnny has a history of chronic otitis media. The physician
recommends that tubes be surgically placed into the tympanic membrane
to equalize pressure between the atmosphere and the middle ear. The
abbreviation for these tubes is ________ tubes.
A: PE
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Hearing Loss
Signs and Symptoms
• Temporary or permanent loss of hearing
Treatment
• Varies with the type and cause of impairment
• May include medication to treat infections
and dissolve cerumen
• Stapedectomy, tympanoplasty, cochlear
implant, and myringotomy
• Hearing aids or other effective means of
aiding communication
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Clincally Related Exercise
Q: An 85-year-old male presents to the clinic with age-related hearing loss.
The MA charts this condition as _________________.
A: presbycusis
Q: John X is advised his hearing loss is due to a disorder characterized by an
abnormal hardening of bones in the middle ear. The doctor charts this
medical condition as _____________________.
A: otosclerosis
Q: A 7-year old male presents for a surgery that involves removing part of
the stapes and implanting a prosthetic device to allow sound waves to pass
in the inner ear. The surgical procedure for removing part of the stapes is
called _____________________.
A: stapedectomy
Q: Mr. C presents for various diagnostic tests to assess his hearing. The
doctor explains that one of the tests involves a tuning fork to evaluate
bone conduction of sound in both ears at the same time. This test is
known as the __________________.
A: Weber tuning fork test
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Medical Vocabulary
• acoustic
• anacusis
• blepharoptosis
• cholesteatoma
• mucoserous
• myringoplasty
• otolaryngology
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Medical Vocabulary
(continued)
• otosclerosis
• presbycusis
• tinnitus
• vertigo
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Diagnostic Procedures
• Audiometry
• Otoscopy
• Rinne and Weber hearing tests
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Word Building Exercise
Q: Act of measuring hearing:
A: audiometry
Q: Surgical repair of the tympanic membrane
(eardrum):
A: tympanoplasty
Q: Visual examination of the ear:
A: otoscopy
Q: Surgical repair of the ear:
A: otoplasty
Q: Abnormal condition of ear hardening:
A: otosclerosis
Q: Without hearing:
A: anacusis
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Medical and Surgical Procedures
• Cochlear implant
• Myringoplasty
• Myringotomy
• Incision of tympanic
membrane followed
by insertion of a PE
tube.
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Clinically Related Exercise
Q: Joe is diagnosed with an ear infection and is scheduled for surgery. An
incision will be made into the ear followed by insertion of pressureequalizing tubes. Incision of the eardrum is charted as a ______________.
A: myringotomy or tympanotomy
Q: To restore hearing loss, an electronic transmitter will be surgically
implanted inside the inner ear. The hearing device produces sound by
electrical stimulating nerves inside the inner ear. This surgical procedure is
known as a (cochlear, auditory, PE) implant.
A: cochlear
Q: Daniel requires surgery to repair a ruptured tympanic membrane. Surgical
repair of the tympanic membrane is called __________________.
A: myringoplasty or tympanoplasty
Q: Justin had a PE tube inserted into his right ear. PE is the abbreviation for
_______________ (tube).
A: pressure equalizing
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Pharmacology
• Vertigo and motion sickness drugs
• Wax emulsifiers
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SPECIAL SENSES: EARS
Clinically Related Exercise
Q: To loosen and help remove impacted cerumen in 3-yearold Johnny, the physician uses a (vertigo and motion
sickness drug, wax emulsifier).
A: wax emulsifier
Q: To combat the patient’s dizziness the physician prescribes
a (vertigo and motion sickness drug, wax emulsifier).
A: vertigo and motion sickness drug
Q: The physician prescribes a (vertigo and motion sickness
drug, wax emulsifier) to reduce sensitivity of the inner ear
to motion while Barbara is on a cruise.
A: vertigo and motion sickness drug
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