What is Otosclerosis
Otosclerosis is a disease of the middle ear bones and sometimes the inner ear. Otosclerosis is a common cause of hearing impairment and is rarely hereditary.
How Does a “Normal” Ear Function?
The ear is divided into three parts; the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The external ear collects sound, the middle ear mechanism transforms the sound and the inner ear receives and transmits the sound.
Sound vibrations enter the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. Movements of the eardrum are transmitted across the middle ear to the inner ear fluids by three small ear bones. These middle ear bones (hammer or malleus, anvil or incus and stirrup or stapes) act as a transformer changing sound vibrations in air into fluid waves in the inner ear. The fluid waves stimulate delicate nerve endings in the hearing canals. Electrical impulses are transmitted on the nerve to the brain where they are interpreted as understandable sound.
What Are the Types of Hearing Impairment?
The external ear and the middle ear conduct sound; the inner ear receives it. If there is some difficulty in the external or middle ear, a conductive hearing impairment occurs. If the trouble lies in the inner ear, a sensorineural or nerve hearing impairment is the result. When there is difficulty in both the middle and the inner ear a mixed or combined impairment exists. Mixed impairments are common in otosclerosis.
