About the Middle Ear
Your ear is made up of three parts—the outer, the middle, and the inner ear.
Normal age related hearing loss is due to wear and tear of the 'Inner Ear'.
An Ear Wax blockage would happen in the 'Outer Ear'.
Sometimes we will see patient's present for an EarWax removal appointment due to their symptoms but on Otoscopy Examination they actually have no EarWax blockage.
Quite frequently these patient's will have a 'Middle Ear' issue instead.
A problem in the middle ear makes it hard for sounds to go from your outer ear to your inner ear.
If you are having a Middle Ear problem, the symptoms can include:
An Ear Wax blockage would happen in the 'Outer Ear'.
Sometimes we will see patient's present for an EarWax removal appointment due to their symptoms but on Otoscopy Examination they actually have no EarWax blockage.
Quite frequently these patient's will have a 'Middle Ear' issue instead.
A problem in the middle ear makes it hard for sounds to go from your outer ear to your inner ear.
If you are having a Middle Ear problem, the symptoms can include:
- Muffled or Dull Hearing. This can fluctuate.
- Ear Pain
- You may also experience fullness in the ear (pressure), tinnitus (ringing), dizziness, popping or clicking noises.
- Symptoms which change upon yawning or moving your jaw.
Tympanometry
Tympanometry is the only test available for assessing middle ear function.
Tympanometry measures middle ear pressure and also tests how well your eardrum moves. Tympanometry is a quick and painless procedure. The ear practitioner will put a small probe into each ear. A small device attached to the probe will push air into your ear. All you have to do is sit still and the results will be displayed in a graph called a tympanogram. This will help us diagnose the problem, and put in place a plan to help relieve the symptoms. |