(a) Common external ear diseases
1. Earwax embolism
The common cause of hearing loss is that earwax blocks the ear canal. The normal function of earwax is to "catch" any foreign body that enters the ear canal and repel it. Most people only produce the right amount of earwax to protect their ears. When the earwax (i.e., earwax) accumulates to a certain extent and an embolus is formed in the ear, the ear canal can be completely closed and sound waves cannot be introduced. In severe cases, mild and simple conductive hearing loss will occur. The treatment of earwax blockage is usually taken out by medical staff, and sometimes the earwax is softened with ear drops.
2. External ear inflammation
Infection, inflammation or "mildew" of the external ear or ear canal. "Ear wandering" is an example of inflammation of the external ear. The common symptoms of otitis externa are ear discomfort, pain or itching, and the results of instrument examination often show inflammation in the infected site or ear canal. Inflammation of the external ear usually does not cause deafness, but blocking the ear canal can cause mild conductive deafness. The treatment of otitis externa is to use antibiotics and antibiotic ear drops, but it should be noted that otitis externa is often contagious, and the instruments and otoscopes used to treat otitis externa need to be thoroughly disinfected, which can not be ignored in particular.
3. Congenital atresia of external ear
Congenital atresia of external ear refers to congenital malformation of auricle or ear canal, or even no auricle or ear canal at all. Such patients usually have no lesions in the inner ear, so deafness is mostly conductive, not sensorineural, because sound cannot pass through the outer ear and middle ear normally. When the external ear is deformed, the ossicles are usually affected. The treatment of the ancients, who had never seen it before, was to reconstruct the external ear, ear canal or ossicle through surgery.
(2) Common diseases of middle ear
1. Tympanic membrane perforation
Tympanic membrane perforation is common and usually caused by many factors, such as otitis media, explosion or sound impact and mechanical perforation (i.e. trauma). Patients often feel sharp pain in their ears, and sometimes their ears will bleed or fester. Tympanic membrane perforation can cause mild to moderate conductive hearing loss. In many cases, the small perforation of tympanic membrane can heal itself without treatment, and the large perforation needs to be repaired.
2. Otitis media
The causes of otitis media are inflammation and middle ear effusion. Otitis media is very common, especially in children. The basic principle is that the air circulation of eustachian tube in middle ear cavity is blocked and the drainage is not smooth. Usually, when a person swallows or yawns, the eustachian tube will open automatically. Because children's eustachian tube is horizontal rather than downward, it may not open when swallowing or yawning, and adults will naturally open the eustachian tube by gravity.