Ear Disorders

What is an ear disorder?

An ear disorder is any condition that changes or harms the shape or structure of your ear. This can include abnormal ear shapes you're born with, injuries that change your ear's shape, and a growth on or in the ear.

Your ear has three main parts, and each one plays a different role in helping you hear:

• Outer ear. The part you see and the ear canal. It catches sound and sends them to your eardrum.
• Middle ear. When sound reaches your eardrum, it vibrates. These vibrations move through three small bones, called ossicles, that carry them further into your ear.
• Inner ear. Changes vibrations into nerve signals your brain understands as sound. It also helps you keep your balance.

Many conditions may affect your hearing or balance:

• Ear infections, the most common illness in infants and young children
• Tinnitus, a ringing or roaring in your ears
• Meniere's disease, which may be caused by fluid problems in your inner ear
• Ear barotrauma, an ear injury from sudden air or water pressure changes

Some of these conditions can also lead to hearing disorders and deafness.

What causes ear disorders?

Ear disorders may be caused by:

• Abnormal ear shapes you're born with, like microtia and anotia, which usually have no known cause. Sometimes they're linked to genes or certain medicines taken during pregnancy.
• Injury from hits, cuts, or bites can damage the ear.
• Growths that form after an injury, piercing, repeated cold water exposure, or years in the sun.
• Infections, like perichondritis, which often start from a cut or piercing.
• Bone growth in the middle ear, called otosclerosis, which can run in families.

What are the symptoms of ear disorders?

Sometimes the only sign of an ear disorder is how your ear looks. Other symptoms may include:

• Changes in the size or shape of your ear
• Swelling, redness, or growths
• Pain or tenderness
• Scarring or changes in skin color
• Cuts or holes in the ear or eardrum
• Slow hearing loss, in some cases

How are ear disorders diagnosed?

To find out if you have an ear disorder, your health care provider may:

• Do a physical exam
• Look inside your ear with a lighted tool called an otoscope
• Order [imaging tests] to see bones or tissue more clearly
• Test your hearing
• Order a biopsy, to check if a growth is cancer

Sometimes, your provider may refer you to a doctor who specializes in care of the ear, nose, and throat.

How are ear disorders treated?

Treatment for an ear disorder depends on the cause. Some may be treated with medicine. Others may need surgery to change the shape of the ear or remove a growth. If the disorder affects your hearing, you may need a hearing aid.

Can ear disorders be prevented?

Most ear disorders that you are born with can't be prevented. But you can help to prevent some ear disorders by:

• Wearing head protection during sports
• Treating cuts and injuries
• Caring for new piercings
• Protecting your ears from cold water and the sun

Questions for your care team

General prompts to help prepare for your appointment.

• How does this information apply to my situation?
• Which symptoms or results need evaluation?
• Which tests are useful, and what can they tell us?
• What care options, benefits, and risks should we discuss?
• When should I seek urgent help, and whom should I call?
• When is follow-up, and how will we know whether the plan is working?