Outer, Middle, and Inner Ear

Audiology 410

Final Project

Taleha malik

Case 1

Patient: 13-year-old boy

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Your patient explains that he would like for you to show him where, on the image below, is his external ear canal. Click on the blue circle that shows the external ear canal.

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Cosmetic and functional

Protects middle ear

Purpose of the outer ear

Localization and amplflication of sound

Thermal regulation

Case 2

Patient: 5 year old male. Has had a sinus infection for two days and is complaining of ear pain and is having difficulty hearing. After looking at his medical history you perform an otoscopy and see this:

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Click to see the mother's question.

Use the diagram on your right to explain the parts of the middle and explain what part may be contributing to his ear infection. Click on the blue button to see the answer.

The mother is a bit confused about how a middle ear infection can impede her son’s hearing. Explain.

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Impedance Matching

The outer ear collects and funnels sound into the middle ear and vibrates the tympanic membrane. This vibration travels through the ossicular chain to the stapes footplate and into the oval window. The oval window is on the cochlea. Sound energy travels from the tympanic membrane to the oval window- this involves impedance matching. What is impedance matching?

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Click to see the mother's question.

Explain to the mother about some of the 'built-in' features the ear has to protect themselves from loud noises.

Case 3

Patient: Male in his mid 40's has no sign of middle ear infection but seems to have difficulty hearing.

You explain to the patient that the problem might be in his inner ear, specifically the cochlea.

What is a cochlea?

Cochlea

A cochlea is a__________ -like structure that is the home of the organ of _________. This organ is responsible for ______________.

Your patient is still a bit confused and has a few questions. Use the videos to help you answer their question.

Congratulations you have successfully treated all your patients.

Otitis Media

Middle ear infection

• Common signs of an ear infection are:
• Redness on and around the tympanic membrane
• The tympanic membrane is also bulging

• A normal tympanic membrane looks pearly white and has a cone of light is visible

Cerumen: Ear Wax

The purposes of cerumen are:

• Moisturize ear canal
• Anti-bacterial
• Temperature control of ear canal
• Protect middle ear from foreign objects

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Eustachian Tubes

The Eustachian tube serves two primary purposes: It supplies air to the middle ear cavity and thereby enables an equalization of the air pressure on both sides of the eardrum. It permits the drainage of fluids from the middle ear into the nasopharynx.

• Eustachian tubes in children are more horizontal, thus making them more susceptible to middle ear infections.

Stapedius and Tensor Tympani Muscles

It's always best to stay away from loud noises. But the ears have two special muscles that protect them from loud noises. These muscles' main objective is to reduce the transmission of sound through the middle ear. The tensor tympani muscle is connected to the malleus, while the stapedius muscle is attached to the stapes The stapedius muscle stabilizes the stapes bone in quiet conditions and contracts in response to loud sounds