Barotrauma means injury to your body because of changes in barometric (air) or water pressure. One common type happens to your ear. A change in altitude may cause your ears to hurt. This can happen if you are flying in an airplane, driving in the mountains, or scuba diving. Divers can also get decompression sickness, […]
A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound. People who are profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can get help from them. The implant consists of two parts. One part sits on the outside of the body, behind the ear. A second part is surgically placed […]
Your ear has three main parts: outer, middle and inner. You use all of them in hearing. Sound waves come in through your outer ear. They reach your middle ear, where they make your eardrum vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear. The vibrations travel to your […]
Most children hear and listen from the moment they are born. They learn to talk by imitating the sounds around them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. But about 2 or 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. More lose their hearing later during childhood. […]
Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear. It can cause severe dizziness, a roaring sound in your ears called tinnitus, hearing loss that comes and goes and the feeling of ear pressure or pain. It usually affects just one ear. It is a common cause of hearing loss. Attacks of dizziness may come […]
Noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing machines. Normally, you hear these sounds at safe levels that don’t affect hearing. But sounds that are too loud or loud sounds over a long time are harmful. They can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing […]
Tinnitus is often described as a ringing in the ears. It also can sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high pitched or low pitched. You might hear it in either one or both ears. Millions of Americans have tinnitus. People with severe tinnitus may have trouble hearing, working […]
Usher syndrome is an inherited disease that causes serious hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disorder that causes your vision to get worse over time. It is the most common condition that affects both hearing and vision. There are three types of Usher syndrome: People with type I are deaf from birth and have […]
