Otosclerosis disease, also known as middle ear calcification, is one of the common causes of hearing loss. Otosclerosis, which is a genetically inherited disease, can also occur after skipping a few generations.
The first stage of hearing is when sound waves reach the eardrum through the outer ear canal and vibrate the membrane. This vibration is transferred to the inner ear fluids through tiny ossicles called hammer, anvil and stirrup located in the middle ear. Sound waves, which are converted into electrical energy at the nerve endings here, are transmitted to the hearing centers in the brain via the auditory nerve, providing hearing.
Problems in the process of transferring sound waves to the inner ear fluids through the outer and middle ear cause "conductive hearing loss". In this type of loss, the hearing organs in the inner ear are intact, but sound waves cannot reach these organs. Hearing losses arising from the inner ear and auditory nerve are called "sensorineural type hearing loss". In otosclerosis, a disease that can also affect the inner ear, both types of loss are often seen together. This type of hearing loss is called "mixed hearing loss".
HEARING LOSS DUE TO AUTOSCLEROSIS
In otosclerosis disease, new spongy-looking bone formations occur in the form of foci in the bone structure that contains the inner ear hearing organs. .
When these changes affect the hearing organs in the inner ear, nerve-type hearing loss called "cochlear otosclerosis" occurs.
The most common place where the disease is observed is the base of the stirrup bone, where it transmits sound wave vibrations to the inner ear. It is located in the region called the oval window. The focus of otosclerosis here prevents the vibration of the stapes bone, disrupting the transmission of the sound wave to the inner ear, and as a result, conductive hearing loss occurs.
The type and degree of hearing loss occurring in otosclerosis depends on the amount of retention (restriction of movement) of the stapes bone and the internal It varies depending on the extent to which the hearing organs in the ear are affected by the disease.
OTOSCLEROSIS TREATMENT
Medical Treatment: Some treatments are used to slow down the progression of hearing loss, especially in diseases that are detected at a young age and progress rapidly. r is used. However, there is no medical treatment for otosclerosis.
Surgical Treatment: With the "stapedectomy" surgery, the stapes bone, whose movement is restricted, is removed and replaced with a prosthesis that will transmit sound waves to the inner ear. With this surgery, which can be performed under local or general anesthesia, results are obtained and conductive hearing loss can be almost completely corrected in the majority of patients. Surgery is not recommended for patients with very mild conductive hearing loss or severe nerve-type hearing loss in which the inner ear hearing organs are severely affected. Stapedectomy surgery can be recommended for all otosclerosis patients unless there is a serious health problem that prevents surgery.
Dizziness may occur for a few days after the surgery. At the end of the surgery, the surgical sponges placed inside the ear are removed within 7-10 days, and patients can return to their normal lives at the end of this period.
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