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 occur after skipping several 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 in the inner ear, 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 Otosclerosis
In otosclerosis disease, new spongy-looking bone formations occur in the form of foci in the bone structure that houses the inner ear hearing organs. .
The most common place where the disease is observed is the region called the oval window, where the base of the stirrup bone transmits sound wave vibrations to the inner ear. 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.
When these changes affect the hearing organs in the inner ear, nerve-type hearing loss called "cochlear otosclerosis" occurs. .
The type and degree of hearing loss occurring in otosclerosis varies depending on the extent of involvement (restriction of movement) of the stirrup bone and the extent to which the hearing organs in the inner ear are affected by the disease.
Treatment of Otosclerosis
Medical Treatment: Hearing loss, especially in diseases detected at a young age and progressing rapidly Some treatments are used to slow the progression of breast cancer. 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. 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.
Dizziness may occur for a few days after the surgery. Surgical sponges placed in the external ear canal at the end of the surgery are removed in 7-10 days, and patients can return to their normal lives at the end of this period.
Although the risks of stapedectomy surgery performed with appropriate surgical equipment and surgical techniques are quite low, approximately 1% hearing loss occurs in each surgery. There is a risk. Apart from this, complications such as a hole in the eardrum, damage to the facial nerve, infection in the ear, and early dislodgement of the piston can be observed much more rarely.
Hearing Aids: Every patient who will benefit from surgery can also benefit from a hearing aid. can benefit. Especially patients with bilateral otosclerosis and those who do not prefer surgery are recommended to use hearing aids to prevent their inner ear functions from declining in parallel with decreased hearing.
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