Symptoms of Ear
problems, pain, discharge, ringing in ears, deafness,
vertigo
Symptoms of Ear problems, pain,
discharge, ringing in ears, deafness and vertigo
could be due to:
DEAFNESS
Symptoms
and indications: Gradual
or sudden loss of hearing. In congenital deafness,
this may be noticed as lack of response to sounds,
or when the child is older, poor or absent speech.
Treatment:
For congenital deafness,
early testing of the hearing is important. A hearing
aid may be fitted, and special training for parent
and child for hearing and speech may be used. Conductive
deafness may be treated by an operation, or fitting
a hearing aid. Nerve deafness may be helped by use
of a hearing aid.
Persons most
commonly affected: Congenital
deafness: from birth and both sexes. Conductive
deafness: any age and both sexes. Nerve deafness:
any age, but increasingly common in people over
50. Both sexes.
LABYRINTHITIS
Symptoms
and indications: Severe dizziness and
nystagmus (involuntary, quick movements of the eyes
from side to side, up and down or circular). Also,
loss of hearing, nausea, vomiting, falling and complete
loss of balance. This is a serious condition and
the person requires immediate medical attention.
Treatment:
Depends on cause, but may involve surgery for drainage
of fluid from the labyrinth or removal of infected
bone cells from the mastoid process (a part of the
temporal bone), which is called mastoidectomy. Intensive
therapy with antibiotics or antiviral drugs may
be required, possibly given intravenously. With
prompt treatment, recovery of hearing and from symptoms
is usually good but complications can arise. The
person should rest in bed until all symptoms have
disappeared.
Persons most
commonly affected: Adults of all age
groups and both sexes.
Ménière's
Disease
Symptoms
and indications: This usually begins
with some hearing loss in one ear, followed after
a period of months by a severe attack of giddiness
or vertigo. This occurs suddenly, often waking the
person up from sleep at night, and is accompanied
by ringing in the ear (tinnitus). This is usually
followed by vomiting and sweating. The symptoms
usually subside in a few hours but the person is
unsteady with loss of balance for some days afterwards.
Another attack may follow in about one week or after
some months. With each attack, the loss of hearing
becomes worse until the person is completly deaf
in the affected ear. A person with symptoms of Ménière's
Disease should seek medical advice.
Treatment:
Involves a variety of different drugs to control
symptoms and also, possibly, surgery. An affected
person should rest in bed until symptoms have subsided.
Diuretic drugs to prevent fluid accumulation may
be prescribed. No method of treatment is completly
successful but some symptoms can be relieved.
Persons most
commonly affected: Both
sexes in middle age but slightly more common in
men.
RUPTURED
EARDRUM
Symptoms
and indications: There may be sudden
deafness following acute Ottis Media or injury.
Sometimes, there may be sudden relief of the pain
of ottis media. There may be a discharge from the
ear, and sometimes sufferers complain of tinnitus.
Treatment:
A doctor will usually clean the middle ear and prescribe
a course of antibiotics. The ear should be protected
while showering. In children, a ruptured eardrum
usually heals within two weeks. In adults, this
may take a little longer.
Persons most
commonly affected: All
ages and both sexes.
Other problems that could cause
Symptoms of severe or sudden abdominal pain could
be: Otitis externa, Otitis media, Otosclerosis
and others.