Ears

• Auricle (or pinna) portion visible without any tools shaped with hollows, furrows, and ridges that form an 

  irregular funnel to conduct sound waves into the external auditory canal.
• cerumen - a wax-like substance that keeps the tympanic membrane soft
• Middle ear or tympanic cavity includes 3 small bones, hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes) these tiny bones are responsible for transmitting sound waves from the eardrum to the inner ear through the oval window.
• Middle ear is separated from external ear by the eardrum and connected to the back of the nose and throat by a narrow passageway called eustachian tube.
• • Eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx.
• Inner ear Fluid filled and made up of bony and inner membranous labyrinth
• Bony labyrinth has three parts: cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals
• Inner cochlear duct contains the spiral organ of Corti, which is the sensory organ for hearing
• Vestibular nerve connects with and cochlear nerve forming the eighth cranial nerve
• Conductive hearing loss related to dysfunction of the external or middle ear.
• Sensorineural or perceptive hearing loss related to dysfunction or damage of the inner ear.
• Otitis media -inflammation or infection of the middle ear. common in early childhood
• vertigo may be associated with an inner ear problem
• Drainage and earache usually indicates infection
• a sudden decrease in ability to hearing in one ear may be associated with otitis media
• Otitis externa often referred to as swimmer’s ears, can occur when water stays in the ear canal for long periods.
• Tympanic membrane should be pearly gray, shiny, and translucent with no bulges or retraction.
• In Performing the whisper test The Client should be able to correctly repeat the two-syllable word whispered.
• in Performing the Weber test Vibrations are heard equally well in both ears.
• The Romberg test is used to test the client’s equilibrium
• In rinne test Air conduction sound is normally heard 

  longer than bone conduction sound.
• In romberg test the client is ask to stand with feet together, arms at sides and eyes open, then with the eyes closed. Client maintains position for 20 seconds without swaying or with minimal swaying
• Presbycusis - age related hearing loss-is the gradual loss of hearing in both ears, common problem in aging.
• In older client Harder cerumen builds as cilia in ear canal 

  become more rigid, Coarse, thick wire-like hair may grow at ear canal 

  entrance and Eardrum appears cloudy
• EXOSTOSIS develop from prolonged irritation of the external 

  auditory canal, typically with repeated cold seawater 

  exposure.