Inner Ear Disorders and Hearing Loss

Vocabulary flashcards covering concepts of inner ear disorders, Ménière's disease, types of hearing loss, diagnostic tests, and rehabilitation options.

Vestibular Labyrinth Manifestation

A manifestation of inner ear disease originating in the vestibular labyrinth, primarily presenting as vertigo.

Auditory Labyrinth Manifestations

Manifestations of inner ear disease originating in the auditory labyrinth, consisting of sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus.

Ménière’s Disease

A progressive inner ear disorder caused by the accumulation of endolymph in the membranous labyrinth, most commonly affecting individuals between 30 to 60 years of age and women more than men.

Drop Attacks

Sudden feelings of being pulled to the ground experienced by some patients during an episode of Ménière’s disease.

Glycerol Test

A diagnostic procedure used in the evaluation of Ménière’s disease alongside audiograms and vestibular testing.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by impaired sound transmission through the external and middle ear to the inner ear, causing decreased sound intensity or distortion, where patients frequently hear better in noisy environments and speak softly.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by impairment of the inner ear or vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII), resulting in the ability to hear sound but an inability to understand speech clearly.

Central Hearing Loss

Hearing loss involving impaired auditory pathways in the brain (CNS), resulting in difficulty understanding the meaning of spoken words.

Functional Hearing Loss

Hearing loss that is psychologically or emotionally related, requiring referral for psychological counseling.

Ototoxicity

Inner ear damage caused by ototoxic drugs, including aspirin, antibiotics, loop diuretics, NSAIDs, antimalarial agents, and chemotherapy drugs.

Non-syndromic Hereditary Hearing Loss

Hereditary hearing loss caused by gene mutations that alter cochlear function, increase the risk of ototoxicity, or cause structural malformations without other associated clinical abnormalities.

Syndromic Hereditary Hearing Loss

Hearing loss that occurs in association with other clinical abnormalities as part of more than 400 identified syndromes.

Weber Test

A tuning fork test performed by placing the stem of a vibrating tuning fork on the midline of the skull or forehead to test sound lateralization between ears.

Rinne Test

A diagnostic test comparing bone conduction (BC) and air conduction (AC) by placing a vibrating tuning fork on the mastoid bone and then near the pinna of the ear canal.

Presbycusis

Age-related hearing loss characterized by a loss of peripheral auditory sensitivity, decline in word recognition, diminished ability to understand speech, and difficulty differentiating consonants.

Cochlear Implant

An implanted electronic device consisting of an external microphone, speech processor, transmitter, and electrode system inserted into the cochlea to cover a full range of sound frequencies.