Otosclerosis - Medtick
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Otosclerosis

What is it?

Otosclerosis is a condition in which there’s abnormal bone growth inside the ear.

  • The condition is caused by abnormal bone remodelling in the middle ear.
  • Bone remodelling is a lifelong process in which bone tissue renews itself by replacing old tissue with new.
  • In otosclerosis, abnormal remodeling disrupts the ability of sound to travel from the middle ear to the inner ear
  • It’s a fairly common cause of hearing loss in young adults.
  • There are 3 tiny bones deep inside the ear that vibrate when sound waves enter.
  • They transmit sound waves to the cochlea (inner ear), which converts them into signals that are sent to the brain.
  • In otosclerosis, the stapes (‘stirrup bone’) begins to fuse with the surrounding bone, eventually becoming fixed so it cannot move.
  • This means sound is no longer transmitted into the inner ear efficiently.

Diagnosis Tests

  • Hearing tests that measure hearing sensitivity (audiogram)
  • Middle-ear sound conduction (tympanogram).
  • Imaging tests such as a CT scan
Always get a hearing test and do not ignore it

Cause

  • Cases seem to run in families, and it’s thought they may be the result of inheriting a faulty gene from a parent.
  • Condition can occasionally get worse more quickly during pregnancy, which may mean changes in hormone levels sometimes play a role.
  • Previous measles infection
  • Stress fractures to the bony tissue surrounding the inner ear
  • Immune disorders

NHS

Symptoms

  • Hearing loss that gets gradually worse over time?
  • Particular difficulty hearing low, deep sounds and whispers?
  • Speaking quietly because your voice sounds loud to you?
  • Normal volume sounds exceptionally loud/Increase hearing in affected ear?
  • Finding it easier to hear when there’s background noise (unlike many other types of hearing loss)?
  • Hearing sounds, such as buzzing or humming, that come from inside your body (tinnitus)?
  • Balance and dizziness?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Hearing loss

  • Otosclerosis can cause mild to severe hearing loss, but it very rarely causes total deafness.
Always get a hearing test and do not ignore it
  • One’s hearing usually gets worse gradually over months or a few years, and may continue to get worse if ignored and left untreated.
  • Very occasionally, otosclerosis can spread to the inner ear, resulting in a greater level of hearing loss that cannot be improved with surgery.

Surgery

  • The hearing loss can normally be treated successfully with either hearing aids or surgery (stapedectomy, a surgeon inserts a prosthetic device into the middle ear to bypass the abnormal bone and permit sound waves to travel to the inner ear and restore hearing).
  • Hearing is improved or restored in around 80 to 90% of people who have surgery.
  • Complications include:
    • Losing more or all of your hearing (in about 1 in 100 cases)
    • Altered sense of taste (usually temporary)
    • New or worsened tinnitus
    • Vertigo (usually temporary)
    • Facial weakness (very rare)

NHS

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Otosclerosis in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

References

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/otosclerosis

NHS

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