Diagnosis
Circulatory disorders in the ear usually manifest themselves with a hearing loss and/or with sounds such as a hissing in the ear. It is important to differentiate between these clinical pictures and to find out their causes. To find out which structure of the ear is responsible for the hearing loss, different tests can be applied.
A tuning fork can help to differentiate between damage to the inner ear or middle ear. If circulatory problems are the cause of the discomfort, the damage is usually in the inner ear. A so-called audiogram can help to find out which frequencies are affected by the hearing loss.
This involves playing sounds at certain frequencies and volumes with headphones and determining the volume at which they can be heard. Certain standard tests should not be forgotten when diagnosing sudden hearing loss due to a circulatory disorder. The determination of blood pressure is particularly important.
Very high or low blood pressure may indicate a circulatory disorder of the inner ear, which would explain the symptoms. Furthermore, it is important to examine the blood for certain abnormalities, as these can, for example, give an indication of the presence of arteriosclerosis. In order to be able to clarify not only the localization of the disorder but also, if necessary, to find the individual cause of the hearing loss, imaging techniques must be used. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most commonly used method for this purpose, as this diagnostic method allows “soft tissue” such as vessels and connective tissue to be depicted particularly well. By using contrast medium, the blood flow can be assessed and under certain circumstances a circulatory disorder of the inner ear can be found.
Symptoms
The symptoms of circulatory disorders of the ear are usually a hearing loss and/or the perception of sounds such as noise. The degree of hearing loss may vary from person to person, but usually affects only one ear. Since there is sometimes a loss of only certain frequencies, sounds may only be perceived distorted.
It is also remarkable that mostly loud noises are perceived as unpleasant.There is also often a feeling of pressure on the affected ear. Since the organ of equilibrium is located in close proximity to the inner ear, dizzy spells can also occur, which are associated with the circulatory disorder. Tinnitus is a clinical picture in which the affected person perceives sounds such as a murmur which does not come from the outside and is therefore only perceived by the affected person.
Basically, one must distinguish between two different forms of tinnitus: subjective and objective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus is not generated by a source in the ear and persists even if the nerves that transmit information from the inner ear to the brain are severed. Objective tinnitus can be attributed to a source located in the inner ear.
Tinnitus caused by a circulatory disorder can potentially lead to both forms of tinnitus. Anomalies in the blood vessels can cause irritation in the inner ear, which is then perceived as noise. If the blood circulation is reduced, however, this can also lead to a sudden loss of hearing and, as a result, to subjective tinnitus.
Just like the hearing organ, the sense of balance is located in our ear. If there is an undersupply to the organ of balance due to circulatory disorders in the ear, serious damage can occur there. These can disturb the organ of balance and thus cause dizziness.
With the symptom dizziness, a distinction is made between rotary vertigo, which feels like being on a merry-go-round, and swaying vertigo, which is more similar to the feeling on a ship. Both types of dizziness can occur with circulatory problems. The ringing in the ears with a circulatory disorder is due to the part of the ear that is responsible for hearing.
One possible cause is damage to the hearing organ due to a lack of blood circulation. In this case, either the nerve fibers that connect the sensory cells to the brain or the sensory cells themselves may be destroyed. In certain frequency ranges, the ear can then no longer perceive the sounds.